


The Hand of the Jedi

by AHopefulVoice



Category: Star Wars - All Media Types
Genre: Canon Compliant, Dark Ezra Bridger, F/M, Force Ghosts, Force Visions (Star Wars), Gen, Not Mandalorian-compliant, Post-Star Wars: Return of the Jedi, kind of
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-12-06
Updated: 2021-02-21
Packaged: 2021-03-09 23:08:58
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 10
Words: 39,606
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27924295
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AHopefulVoice/pseuds/AHopefulVoice
Summary: Five years after Return of the Jedi, Luke Skywalker is beginning to rebuild the Jedi Order, Mara Jade is rebuilding her life, and something—or someone—is lurking out in the Unknown Regions.
Relationships: Ezra Bridger & Kanan Jarrus, Leia Organa & Luke Skywalker, Leia Organa/Han Solo, Mara Jade & Sheev Palpatine | Darth Sidious, Mara Jade & Talon Karrde, Mara Jade/Luke Skywalker
Comments: 32
Kudos: 67





	1. Prologue

**Author's Note:**

> This is something I’ve been working on for _literally_ over a year. As many times as I try to work on another project, something keeps drawing me back to this in a way that no fic ever has. It is incomplete, but with a very specific plan that will hopefully come to life. I plan to post weekly, allowing myself a buffer to finish.
> 
> Originally meant to be a tale in three works, I’ve decided it functions better as one work in three parts. I’ve taken liberties with canon, applied elements of Legends, and borrowed things from all three trilogies. In a perfect world, this will come together flawlessly—you and I know better than that. This is un-beta’d and probably full of errors that I’ve missed.
> 
> Regardless, I hope you enjoy.

Cheers erupted, and Luke Skywalker didn’t think he could smile any wider.He watched his sister kiss her new husband, thrilled that this day finally came.It had been three months since the Battle of Endor and the destruction of the second Death Star.In those three months, Luke had been all over the galaxy liberating Imperial-held planets with the rest of Rogue Squadron, only coming to Coruscant for his sister’s wedding.

Coruscant itself, returned to its rightful name after more than two decades known as Imperial Center, had been one of the first planets to regain its former independence.With the statues of Emperor Palpatine torn down and Imperial banners ripped to shreds, the city-planet was slowly beginning to look more like the place that had been the center of the galaxy for thousands of years.

This was where his parents lived, the place he could have grown up.

This was where the Jedi Temple had been, bastardized by the Emperor into his Imperial Palace.

This was where Luke would finish his training and finally become a Jedi Master.

He couldn’t do it without help.

 _Ahsoka Tano_ , said the whispers throughout the galaxy, _the Jedi who isn’t a Jedi._

Both Ben and Yoda were absent, unable to confirm this information.His father, while having visited Luke several times over the last few months, wore remorse on his face and refused to comment.Luke eventually gave up asking his mentors, instead turning to what was left of the Imperial Archives, thanks to Leia’s high position in the New Republic.There were no records of the former Jedi, due to Palpatine’s destruction of all Jedi records.

Something prickled at the back of Luke’s neck.It was the same feeling he got when a TIE Fighter had him in its sights.Danger.His eyes swept the balcony above the back of the congregation, and saw nothing.Then—

His lightsaber deflected a blaster bolt aimed at his head, opening with a familiar _snap-hiss_.Comforted by the hum of his hand-crafted weapon, Luke searched for the source of the attack.The crowds were scattering, making it hard to see.

“You’ve gotta be kriffing me,” Han said from behind Luke.“We couldn’t get _one day_ off.”

The Jedi was already pushing through the crowds in pursuit of a shadow in the corner of his eye.He reached out through the Force past the panic and confusion, searching for malicious intent.All he could feel was anxiety and fear.Until— _there_!

A blackness, cold and malevolent, permeated the room from the corridor beyond the entryway.Luke suppressed a shudder, feeling the Dark like a drip down his spine.He was chasing no ordinary assassin.

But as soon as he’d felt that chill, it was gone.Shielded away, even as he stretched out with his mind faster than his feet could carry him.Luke pushed through the chaos, urging the beings nearest him out of his way.The would-be shooter’s presence seemed to be flickering in and out of the Force.It was obvious that he or she—no, definitely she; there was a distinct femininity to his target—knew the Imperial Palace well, ducking down corridors and running through random rooms that Luke barely even noticed.

He didn’t have to run for long before giving up the chase.There was no way he could catch up to her.Not the way she was running through the Palace like an expert.Luke slowed to a stop and felt a curious brush against his mind.As quickly as it had happened, it was gone, and so was any lingering Force presence of the attacker.

There were holorecorders all over the Palace for security, and with the amount of press coverage the wedding was getting, it would seem that _someone_ would have caught a holo of the woman.With a sigh, Luke realized that if she had known how to escape, she would know how to avoid being seen.

He, along with his friends and Palace security, would comb through the footage, but would find nothing.She was a professional.Disappointed in himself, Luke remained in the busy hall, anxious and frightened and excited people milling about him.Their emotions were overwhelming, but he knew he had seen her.He had to have seen her.

Closing his eyes, Luke sifted through his memories.There were people everywhere, all day long, distracting and entertaining him.He focused on the last few moments of the ceremony, feeling a pang in his chest at the happiness that Leia and Han shared.Concentrated on that instant when the Force warned him that something was coming.Turned his awareness to the crowd on the mezzanine...

All Luke could see was a gaunt figure and a flash of red hair.


	2. Part I: Rebel Falling: Chapter One

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which we meet our heroes...

**PART I: Rebel Falling**

Mara Jade threw back the last of her drink and slammed her glass down on the creaky wooden bar, and the patrons of the seedy cantina screamed in response.Someone clapped her on the back, and she barely kept herself from flinching.The Togruta next to her grumbled about losing a fortune, making Mara grin to herself.She still had it.

As she stood, Mara leaned back to feel that wonderful popping along her spine, then headed over to a table in the far corner of the room, slinging herself down in the chair opposite its sole occupant.

“Did you collect your prize?” asked the man, a middle-aged Human with grey-flecked black hair.

Mara’s eyes narrowed.“Did you?”

They stared at each other for a long moment, then the man began to chuckle.“It’s only been six months, Mara Jade, but you might be the most profitable employee I have ever had.”

She let a small smile crack on one side of her face, the most emotion she had publicly displayed in a long time.As uncomfortable as it made her, it actually felt kind of good.Her boss, Talon Karrde, made her want to feel human, not like the machine she knew she was.“High praise, coming from you, sir,” she responded lightly.

“Yes, well,” he said, “quite a few business deals were sealed tonight, my dear.”

For once, Mara let the fatherly endearment slide.“Glad to hear it.”

“Buying anything with your winning credits?” Karrde asked, and Mara knew he wasn’t fishing for information.Despite being one of the galaxy’s most successful brokers of information, he didn’t treat his employees like customers or sources unless they wanted to be.As a woman with no desire to let the entire galaxy know her past, Mara Jade was very much appreciative of his tendencies to mind his own business.

Someday, she might even tell Karrde the truth.

Mara shrugged, a nonchalant move that belied her trepidation.Drinking contests on backwater planets were nothing compared to the shady business that she’d conducted to make credits over the last several years, but the bonus cash on top of her healthy salary from Karrde was enough to make her comfortable.At least—more comfortable than she had ever been before.

Since the fall of the Empire, that is.

Sometimes Mara felt like she was constantly looking over her shoulder, finger twitching on the trigger of her blaster.

“Well,” said Karrde, “you might want to pass your inclinations to save rather than spend on to some of the crew, like Aves or Chin.Those fools would buy a womp rat in a sequined dress if it smiled at them the right way.”

It was only the respect she held for her employer that kept Mara from rolling her eyes. 

“Speaking of womp rats,” began Karrde, and Mara lost her smile.“I’d like your help on my next business deal.Have you heard of Tatooine?”

Had Mara heard of Tatooine.The second worst day of her life happened on Tatooine.That backwater planet had nearly cost her everything.It was the only mission she had ever failed.Her master—

No.

Her master was dead.

She had no master anymore.

_YOU WILL KILL LUKE SKYWALKER._

Mara flinched.“No,” she muttered, shaking her head slightly to clear the cobwebs.Karrde frowned at her, concerned.To him, she said, “Just a headache.I’ve been to Tatooine before.”

Karrde nodded, clearly convinced that she was fine.“An old business associate of mine asked for us to do some digging for an old family heirloom or something of that nature.”Which probably wasn’t true, but she knew Karrde wasn’t about to tell her that.“I was hoping you would go with me.”

“I’ll go anywhere you want me to,” she said, knowing that there was nowhere else she’d rather avoid.

He smiled.“Wonderful.I told him that we would be there within the week.I’d like to take Durm and Strang with us, so we’ll head to Myrkr in the morning and spend a few days there to prepare.”

Mara generally didn’t like pets, but she liked Karrde’s vornskrs.They were fierce and preferred to be left alone.She could relate.If Mara had her way, she would work alone, but that didn’t pay the bills.Not that she had any, with the nomadic lifestyle she lived these days.But she needed credits and stability and resources so that she could finish her last mission, so she could be free.

_YOU WILL KILL LUKE SKYWALKER._

Grimacing, Mara knew she wouldn’t sleep tonight.It had been so long since she’d heard her master’s voice, had felt his command in her mind.The nightmares would follow, and then—

“I need to go back to the hotel,” she said, rising from the table.Karrde tilted his head slightly.Someday she might be brave enough to tell him who she was and what she did.“I’ll meet you at the spaceport at nine-hundred hours.”

He nodded, evidently satisfied enough to let her go.“Sleep well, Jade.”

Mara returned the gesture and turned to go.Just before she reached the door, she paused.Her credits.Turning to go to the counter, Mara counted her steps wearily, more out of habit than actual concern.When she got there, she leaned her elbows on the bar surface and raised an eyebrow at the proprietor.The alien grunted at her, and Mara clenched her jaw, barely keeping the snarl off her lips.

Two credit chips were flung in her direction.Without looking at them, Mara scooped them off the counter and shoved them in her pocket.She narrowed her eyes, and a third swiftly joined the other two.

Saying nothing, Mara spun around and walked out of the cantina.

It was chilly outside.There was a thick layer of cigarra smoke just outside the door, a trio of Neimoidians hovering around the exit.Once she had passed them, Mara shoved her hands in her pockets.There was a nice buzz in her brain that dulled the tiredness behind her eyes.She was exhausted, yet she knew she wouldn’t sleep well, if she slept at all.

Mara flicked her eyes up as she walked, looking at the buildings surrounding her.This level of Coruscant was in the middle, familiar enough to feel like home, but anonymous enough to make her relax.She hated this kriffing planet.

This had been her home, the center of her world.Now it was just an empty shell of the glory it once had.She had operated in the fringes, but her place was in the upper levels among the elite, attending the Imperial Opera, dancing with the Royal Ballet, wining and dining those the Emperor trusted most and liked the least.

She felt like a ghost.

Mara’s bones yearned for the ease and peace of Myrkr.On that silent planet, there were no ancient orders, no threats, no spirits to plague her.On that planet, she could sleep.

The heels of her boots clicked against the ground, echoing in the empty air.

The only warning she got was a tiny flicker in the Force.

Holdout blaster yanked from her wrist and into her right hand, Mara already sent off two shots before she even saw her attacker.Human, or humanoid enough, middle-aged male.Her third bolt hit him in the chest, and he recoiled momentarily before advancing upon her again.Shavit, he was wearing some sort of armor.

Former Imperial?One of Isard’s agents?Rebel sympathizer?

Whoever he was, he was an amateur.Despite his high-tech and likely expensive body armor, he was poorly skilled and all it took to disarm him was a roundhouse kick to the chest and a punch in the jaw.Once his blaster was secured on her person, Mara dragged his unconscious body over into an alley.

He had no identification, no credits, nothing that would tell her who he was with or who he worked for.

But his face...

Just a mugger from the cantina, she told herself, jealous that he lost the drinking contest.

More than anything, Mara was just annoyed that he nearly managed to get the drop on her.She needed to be more careful.In the last two days, Mara had begun to get whispers of a power she’d long forgotten.She could only attribute it to her return to Coruscant, where the Emperor had given her this power.With the return of her kriffing Force sensitivity, she would more easily become distracted by the feelings of those around her, of the emotions ebbing and flowing faster than the speeders in the traffic that raced in the levels above.Fortunately, her mind was blissfully empty, with the exception of—

_YOU WILL KILL LUKE SKYWALKER._

Two days of headaches and an itchy trigger finger after four years of peace.Her Force abilities had greatly diminished after Palpatine’s death, and had disappeared entirely within a year.But now...

What she wouldn’t give for some of those damn ysalamiri right now.Maybe Karrde knew of a way to transport them, so she could get some rest on their way to Tatooine.

Brushing dust off her thighs, Mara took one last look at her would-be attacker, and continued on toward her hotel.

Her master’s final command echoed in her ears.

* * *

“Chandrila Control, this is New Republic X-Wing AA-589, requesting permission to enter atmo and land in Hanna City.”

Staring down at the planet below him, Luke was filled with a sense of wonder and then agony.Wincing at the pain he could feel within, he heard a series of chirps and looked to the translation matrix before him.

“Yeah, I know, Artoo, but we’ve got to wait for permission.”

Leia was in labor, and projecting her pain to every Force-sensitive being in the system, it seemed.Not that there were too many of those to begin with.None, actually, that Luke could find.

In the five years that had passed since the second Death Star was destroyed above Endor, Luke had been training and growing as a Jedi.The Force ghosts of Ben, Yoda, and his father had been helpful at the beginning, sending him searching for Jedi ruins throughout the galaxy.But then their visits had become less and less frequent, until they stopped coming at all.Luke spent most of his time in his X-wing, it seemed, shuttling between planets and systems, looking for any records of the Old Jedi Order’s training.

_“AA-589, this is Control, please hold for docking instructions.”_

“Holding,” he responded, fingers drumming against the yoke.His sister’s anguish was making him anxious.Another warble, this one more concerned.“I _know_ , Artoo!”It wasn’t like he chose to be late to the birth of his sister’s first child.He had been back on Coruscant, searching the ruins of the Jedi Temple for anything— _anything_ —that could help him.Leia went into labor four days early, so all of his carefully made plans to get back to Chandrila went out the window.Reaching out with his Force sense, Luke made contact with Leia, letting her know that he was on his way, and then brushed against the baby.He had tried not to get involved too much with the pregnancy; if Han and Leia wanted the sex to be a surprise, then he would keep it from himself, too.Though he suspected Leia already knew.

_“AA-589, this is Control.You have been cleared to land at Docking Bay Besh-Forty-Two.Approach from the northeast, along vector four-eight-six.”_

“Roger, Control.AA-589, approaching from northeast, along vector four-eight-six, bound for Docking Bay Besh-Forty-Two.”Luke eased into the yoke, feeling the X-wing begin its steady descent into Chandrila’s atmosphere.

A layer of clouds covered Hanna City, but Luke had made this approach too many times to let a small obstacle like that get in his way.Plus, he had the Force, as much as Han liked to say that was cheating.

Soon enough, Luke had left his X-wing in the capable hands of the docking bay’s crew, and was running through the corridors until he reached the Labor and Delivery Ward.Medical droids flitted around the waiting room, distributing and collecting paperwork from patients, giving updates to guests, and just overall observing.

“Well, well, well,” said a voice from behind Luke.He didn’t need to turn to see who it was.A grin spread across Luke’s face.“If it isn’t the less fun uncle, finally showing up.”

“Lando Calrissian,” Luke said, sticking his hand out to his friend.The other man ignored the hand, pulling Luke into a hug that was, frankly, quite aggressive.“How long have you been here?”

He shrugged.“Few hours, maybe?I got into an argument with a sassy droid that reminded me of my old L3.Did Han ever tell you about her?” Luke shook his head.“Ah, well, remind me to tell you that story some time.”

“How’s Leia doing?”

“I think the more important question here,” said Lando, “is how is _Han_ doing?”

Luke laughed.“Okay, how is Han doing?”

Lando raised his eyebrows.“Let’s just say I hope Leia got him some of that brandy he likes as an apology gift.”

With a wince, Luke asked, “That bad?”

Putting on a high-pitched voice, Lando mocked, “Ow, Leia, I think you broke my kriffing hand!”Luke chuckled, and was glad that Lando was here to keep him company.Hyperspace and the search for Jedi knowledge was lonely, which no one really seemed to understand.Luke may have grown up on a backwater planet with a small group of friends and a smaller family, but he still didn’t like being alone.Maybe that was why he got along with Artoo so well.

And—

“Why, Master Luke, it is so good to see you!”

Lando rolled his eyes as the shiny, gold protocol droid ambled up to the pair of men.

“Threepio!” Luke exclaimed.“How have you been?Are Leia and Han keeping you busy?”

“I’m mostly just talking with computers and other droids these days,” C-3PO said, “which is refreshing considering my primary purpose is translation and protocol, not traipsing around distant planets delivering messages like a courier droid.”

Luke shoved down the urge to roll his eyes, calling on his center and allowing the Force to wash over him.“I’m sure Artoo will be thrilled to see you.He’s with my X-wing now.”

As expected, Threepio made his excuses and promptly shuffled off in the direction of the hangar.

Lando shook his head and laughed.“Your poor droid is going to hate you later.”

“Nah,” said Luke with a shrug.“He actually enjoys Threepio’s company.Likes making him mad.”

It seemed like the two droids were constantly arguing, but that was how Luke met the two of them in the first place.The pair were very amusing on long trips, even when they werecausing chaos and drawing concern from everyone around them.

Lando interrupted Luke’s thoughts.“How long do you think Han will be able to keep Leia and their baby here on Chandrila now that the Imperial Instruments of Surrender have been signed?”

“Are they planning on moving?” Luke asked, surprised.This was the first he had heard of this.“I guess I’ve been out of touch for a while.”

“Living in hyperspace will do that to you, my friend.But yeah, ever since the Senate moved to Nakadia, they’ve been planning on relocating there.”

Nakadia was an agricultural world in the Mid Rim.Luke had visited before going to Hoth for the first time, escorting the Millennium Falcon on a supply run for the Alliance.Out of gratitude to the Alliance for their liberation from the Empire, the Nakadians became a primary supplier of food for the rebels.

“I thought the Senate being based there was only temporary,” said Luke.

Lando nodded.“It is,” he said, “but I don’t think they’ve decided where to go next.I got roped into helping Han with the move since Leia will be busy with the baby.”

Then came a distraction.

Luke couldn’t help but smile.“She’s had the baby.”

Just as he said that, Han burst through the double doors on the far side of the room.“It’s a boy!” he exclaimed, looking the happiest that Luke had ever seen him.Han was dressed in medical scrubs, but approached his friends and embraced them tightly.“I have a son!They’re washing him up now, but you can come and see Leia before they bring him back.”

“How’s Leia?” asked Luke.

Han grinned.“She’s perfect.I don’t think she wants to go through this whole thing again, though.She may have threatened me with some, uh, unpleasant things if I did this to her again.”He motioned for them to follow him back through those doors and into the patients’ ward.

“I’ll stay out here for a bit,” Lando offered, sitting back down in one of the chairs against the wall.“Let the family catch up.”

Leia was flushed and sweaty, but otherwise looked perfectly healthy.A nurse droid backed away, allowing Luke to see his sister fully.In her arms was a tiny baby with dark hair and pink skin.“Luke,” she said happily, “come meet our son, Ben.”

Luke was fairly unfamiliar with infants.Uncle Owen and Aunt Beru never had children, and he was too busy during the war to spend much time with his friends’ babies.Cautiously, he reached out his hand to touch the baby’s head.Ben wrapped his tiny hand around Luke’s index finger, pulling it against his chest.Even without the physical contact, Luke could tell that the child was strong with the Force.

“Ben?” he asked, looking at his sister.

Leia smiled.“We thought it would be a nice tribute to the man who brought us all together.”

“You know he and Poe are gonna get in lots of trouble when they’re older,” Han said to his wife, sitting beside her on the bed.“Shara promised it.”

She rolled her eyes.“I think we can handle it.”

As Luke watched the family—his family—he was struck with a pang of loneliness.Sure, he spent time with his friends often, but this was different.He was dedicated to reestablishing the Jedi Order, but that didn’t mean that some part of this didn’t want this, too.Growing up as an only child with a handful of friends who were older and slightly mean to him, Luke was used to being by himself.But for the first time, he realized that he wanted this.

He wanted a family, a partner, someone to share his life with.

Leia looked at him quizzically, and Luke realized that he’d been projecting his thoughts and emotions.Slowly raising a wall in his mind and shoving those feelings behind it, Luke shook his head minutely at his sister.She didn’t need to worry about him.

* * *

_Her heart thunders in her chest, and she knows that he can hear it.She just knows.So much for staying below the radar.She isn’t used to being noticed unless she wants to be.Everyone sees right through her.She fractures and splinters into a million pieces spread throughout the galaxy, reassembling for each mission, each assignment, each task given to her by her master._

_She could feel him as soon as he walked into the room, lightsaber swinging by his slender hip.He wasn’t what she expected, he’s more than she hoped.She wanted this to be easy._

_This is a test._

_She can feel the beat of her heart against her ribs and, for the first time, feels her panic begin to rise.Her cover will be blown, he will know, he will see her—_

_Everyone always sees right through her._

_She is a ghost, a specter in an empty room, a nightmare among dreams._

_Only her master sees her._

_His presence wraps around her like a cloak, suppressing her urge to run enough that she stays firmly in place, feet rooted to the ground so that she can’t go anywhere._

_It is terrifying._

_His eyes scan the room, and she feels ready to fight, feels the cool metal of her own lightsaber against her bare thigh, feels her anxiety reach higher and higher that she knows she must be projecting—_

_His gaze completely passes over her, and she releases a breath she hadn’t realized she was holding.Closing her eyes, she sinks into herself and begins to seek the calm that eluded her for the last minute and a half.Her master would be humiliated if he could see her._

_How could she have gotten so distracted by a single man, a single target?_

_She is a ghost, and slips back into the shadows._

_He is so full of light that she cannot keep her eyes off him for long.His presence blinds her, drowns out the ringing in her ears for the first time that she can ever remember.She closes her eyes and tips her head back against the wall, fingers scrambling against the cool stone behind her, aching to anchor herself to something real._

_She is drawn to him, like a moth to a flame, and yearns to brush her mind against his, wonders if it would burn.She has never seen anyone so light.As long as she could remember, she was surrounded by darkness, the occasional light being snuffed out just as quickly as she could sense it.But no one—no other Jedi—had ever felt like this, like the sun to her moon._

_You cannot give up your position, she reminds herself.Master would never forgive it.She didn’t dare bring any more attention to herself than she was sure she already had.No matter what happens from now until the completion of her assignment, her master will know of anything she does, anything she says._

_Only her master sees her._

_She cannot help but watch him, watch as he prepares to bargain for the freedom of his friends, to take control of the situation._

_She wants to know him, to know if his light would clear some of her cobwebs._

_She turns her head, needing to feel the chill of the stone against her cheek.His light is burning her and he doesn’t even know she is here._

_His eyes roam the room again, skip over her, but narrow—like he recognizes that he is missing something.It’s dangerous, she knows, being so close to him and feeling these things.She wants to step out into his light, feel him on her skin, cauterize the wounds she has bled from her entire life._

_There is a heady pulse in the room, his sense reaching out to examine the room’s occupants.She throws up her shields as gracefully and stealthily as she can, more out of habit than desire to protect herself.He cannot know she is here._

_He is powerful.Would it be so bad if she reached out to him for mere seconds, just to feel his heat?She could claim it as an accident, could explain it away as his natural abilities augmenting in the presence of another Force user._

_The ringing in her ears is still gone, but her heartbeat begins its crescendo once more to drown out her thoughts.She wants him to see her, wants to know if he even can see her._

_Only her master can see her._

_Everyone sees through her._

_She sees through herself._

_In the space of ten seconds, she has begun to question all of her beliefs.This man is dangerous, and she is weak._

_He looks around once more, this time more slowly and with intent.He studies someone less than twenty feet away from her, then his gaze moves closer and—_

_His eyes are bluer than anything she has ever seen._

_She gasps as his gaze meets hers._

_He sees her._

Mara Jade woke up screaming.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> That dream sequence may have been the first thing I ever wrote for Mara.
> 
> I’m not planning on updating again until Sunday; I just felt that a simple prologue less than 800 words was a little unfair. This entire thing started out as a gift for my husband, so any errors are definitely my fault.


	3. Chapter Two

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is where things start to deviate from canon. The characters may seem out of character, but everything will be explained in time.

Mara ran her fingers down the furry lizard’s spine, feeling it breathe beneath her hand.It slowly crawled up the nutrient frame until it was out of her reach.These things were kind of cute, not that she would ever admit that to anyone.

The _Wild Karrde_ was leaving for Tatooine in the morning, and Mara was dreading it.At least the flight and their stay on that dust bowl would be made easier by the presence of the ysalamiri.And if she had to stay away from the Force bubbles, she had a large supply of stim pills to keep her sane.

“And then I said, what’s the big deal? Doesn’t every Gungan have bad manners?”The rest of Karrde’s crew laughed raucously at Aves’s anecdote, but Mara hadn’t been listening enough to get the punchline.The roar of their amusement followed her out of the cargo hold, through the ship, and down the boarding ramp into the cool evening air.

Karrde stood at the bottom of the ramp, tossing small pieces of meat to his pet vornskrs, watching them run to catch them.“Ah, Mara,” he said, a smile touching his lips.“Did the boys get those crates of liquor loaded?”She nodded, and he threw another piece of meat.“Our friends in Mos Eisley will appreciate that.I think Faughn is cooking tonight, if you would like to join us for dinner.”

Mara shook her head.“I’ve got some reading to catch up on,” she said.“I may have been to Tatooine before, but that was before the Hutts lost control.I need to familiarize myself with the current political climate.”

Her boss shook his head fondly.“If anyone needs to do research, it certainly isn’t you, Mara.I never have to worry about you.”

While that normally would have Mara proud, tonight she just felt untethered.“Either way,” she said, “I think I’ll turn in early.”

“Very well,” Karrde said, his fingers massaging the skin between one of his pets’ ears.“Goodnight, Mara.”

She nodded.“Goodnight.”

As Mara started walking in the direction of the barracks, she dug her hands into her pockets.The grass was soft beneath her feet, her shadow stretched out long in front of her.Insects chirped in the forests, accompanying her journey to her sanctuary.She walked past the first door, around the side of the building to the other end.Once inside, she doubled back to her room, a corner unit on the front side.

Old habits die hard.

She was feeling old and bitter tonight.

When she was twenty-one years old, Mara Jade’s life ended.She could feel her master’s screams in her heart from half a galaxy away.She should have been there, on the second Death Star, she should have protected him, she should have—

It didn’t matter.

Five years had passed, and she had moved on.

She had—if not quite the respect she had as the Emperor’s Hand—her freedom, and a steady source of income from a reliable employer.It was far more than she could have hoped for in her situation.

Mara input the code to her door, and slipped inside.She slapped her hand against the light control, eyes roaming for any disturbances.Everything was exactly as it had been.A bed, a desk, a chair, a dresser.Nothing personal that she couldn’t abandon at a moment’s notice.

There was once a time when she would have cringed to live like this permanently.She had never been spoiled, but being the favorite of the Emperor had had its perks.Now, Mara Jade had nothing to her name except a few articles of clothing and her blaster.A far cry from the wardrobes full of beautiful dresses she had as a dancer in the Imperial Ballet, or for whatever mission her master required.Of course, she had always been most comfortable in jumpsuits that were easy to move in, much like she wore consistently now.Maybe she wasn’t so different these days after all.

Mara moved around the room, dismantling her own booby traps.She sat on the stiff chair and stared out the window at the edge of the forest in the distance, a cup of cold caf from this morning between her palms.Taking a drink, Mara cringed as the cool liquid slid down her throat.She set the mug on the floor and reached for her datapad.

Mara tried to catch up on the latest news headlines, but couldn’t focus.

Fingers pressing against her temples, Mara wondered if a healing trance would help her sleep off the headache without the nightmares.Could she risk it?

Mara’s eyes drifted back to the datapad.The first images of Princess/Senator/Whatever-New-Title-She-Had Leia Organa Solo’s baby had been published.Organa Solo’s brother, and Mara’s sworn enemy, had shown up late, but managed to see the little sunspot be born.

Mara had spent nearly the entire first year of her life after the Empire plotting to kill him, barely sleeping at night without dreams of the many ways she could do it.Now, she barely dreamt at all.Except for the nightmares.

Belatedly, Mara realized that while she may have turned Karrde’s offer of dinner down, she needed to eat.She stood and walked to the counter where she had a stash of ration bars.

Bland and chewy, what had once been the only food she could stomach was now comfort food.Mara felt better once she had something in her stomach.Feeling refreshed, Mara reached for her comlink.

There was no one she needed to speak to, only the urge to talk to _someone_.

She put the comm back down.

Mara turned to the window.There were still a couple of hours until the sky turned completely black.Plenty of time for a workout.

* * *

Luke’s least favorite part of being a Jedi was mediation.Well, his least favorite part of being the _only_ Jedi was mediation.Everyone assumed he could solve any conflict and make everybody happy.Some cultures historically relied solely on the Jedi as a system of justice, while others simply used Jedi wisdom as guidance.

Naturally, that meant Luke found himself in the middle of bar fight at least twice a week.

Not that he was frequenting tapcafes and cantinas and bars, but between the rotating availability of his friends in Rogue Squadron, Han’s increase in parental duties, and Lando’s rare visits, Luke found himself spending a lot of time with (and credits on) alcohol.

He flinched as a Rodian was slammed against the bar next to him.The attacker pummeled the green alien’s face with one of four fists, knocking glasses off the counter and onto the floor, shattering into thousands of pieces.

With a sigh, Luke said to the bartender, “Check, please.”

The Weequay turned around and fumbled at the till, hands shaking with anger that his establishment’s glassware was being demolished.Or at least Luke supposed.

To the Rodian and Besalisk, he turned and said, “We don’t need to do this, do we?”

“He looked at me funny,” the Besalisk snarled, grabbing the Rodian by the collar.

The Rodian scoffed, small hands struggling against the others’ monstrous fists.“I did no such thing!”

Luke straightened his tunic and firmly said, “We don’t need to do this.I’m sure he is very sorry for giving you the wrong impression when he looked at you—”

“No, I’m not!”

“—and I know you are very sorry for resorting to violence when you could have just ignored him.”

The Besalisk grunted and dropped the Rodian, who shuffled backwards to a group of his species across the room, drinks long forgotten.To Luke, he said, “Stay out of my way, Jedi.”He brushed past Luke, but not without intentionally bumping the Jedi into the bar.Luke winced, and watched the alien until he had left the bar completely.

The room was still silent, all eyes on him.

Even after nine years, all the attention Luke regularly received made him uncomfortable.

“You can continue on with your business,” he said diplomatically.The bartender had his check ready, and Luke paid as quickly as he could, reaching for his comlink as he practically ran out the door.

There were no messages, and Luke thought he should have heard from Wedge by now if he was running late.Maybe his friend forgot—

_Luke_.

“Ben?” Luke asked aloud, wondering if the voice in his head had been just that, a voice in his head.

_Go to the Imperial Palace.Find the ancient texts._

The voice didn’t feel like Ben, but it had been so long since Luke heard anyone through the Force that he must have just forgotten what the sensation felt like.“What ancient texts?” he asked the empty air.

He was answered with nothing but silence.

Luke sighed, and looked around him before starting the short walk to his speeder.He didn’t know why he had come to Coruscant in the first place.None of his family lived here, but for some reason he insisted on keeping an apartment on the city-planet.Just a farm boy making his dream come true after more than a quarter century, he reasoned.His friends were spread out throughout the galaxy, but Luke loved the hustle and bustle that came with being at the center of the universe.

If only he could be more anonymous.

Knowing he looked either extremely shady or extremely dramatic, Luke pulled the hood of his cloak over his head, masking his face in shadow.Maybe he should follow Leia and Han to Nakadia (and, also like them, keep his place here).Or maybe he should just go find a Mid-Rim planet and become a moisture farmer.It was really the only thing he was qualified to do.Being a Jedi wasn’t quite a paying job, and he didn’t particularly want to rejoin the military or become a commercial pilot.

Starting up the speeder through the Force as he approached it, Luke wondered if the ancient texts were even at the Imperial Palace.In the last five years, Luke had searched far and wide for any old Jedi teachings, but the Emperor had done an extremely thorough job of destroying everything.Leia had helped him search the Imperial archives, but all information had been deleted, save that which was really just Imperial propaganda.

As he made his way home, Luke considered a more literal interpretation.What if the ancient texts were extremely old, worn books that weren’t in any computer?He hadn’t searched for physical books before, just holocrons and datachips.

But where would the Emperor have kept these texts, if they even existed at all?Would he not have burned them, like he destroyed everything else?Surely he wouldn’t have just hidden them away.The Emperor wanted to control the narrative.Even five years after his demise at Endor, the Emperor controlled the narrative.History courses couldn’t be written fast enough.

There was a chirp from his comm.He patched it through the speeder’s comm system and said, “Skywalker.”

_“Luke?”_ came a familiar voice.Wedge Antilles. _“Did you get thrown out of here?There’s broken glass everywhere.”_

“Blast,” Luke said.“I’m sorry, Wedge.I got—”How was he supposed to describe that conversation with Ben?It was hard enough explaining the feeling to Leia, who was Force-sensitive.“I got a message that sounded kind of urgent so I had to run.Can we reschedule?”

Wedge laughed. _“Sure, man.Hey, I’ll still see you at your sister’s tomorrow?”_

It was impossible for Luke not to grin.“Even I can’t avoid dinner at my sister’s.Believe me, I’ve tried.”

There was another laugh, and Luke heard, _“Alright, Luke, I’ll see you tomorrow then.Have fun on your errand!”_

Wedge keyed off, and Luke finally saw the huge Imperial Palace in the distance.He would have to be quick tonight, if he was going to get any rest before his trip to Chandrila.A few days with his sister, brother-in-law, and four-month old nephew would be the cure for the funk he had found himself in, as hard as it was to admit.

The more he thought about it, the more Luke realized how isolated he really was.Constantly shuffling between systems, no other Jedi to turn to for guidance...It was a lonely life.He had never been able to track down Ahsoka Tano, and could never find out the names of any other Jedi who survived Order 66.

The Palace was insanely busy when he arrived at the main entrance.The giant banners hanging advertised the New Alderaan Society for Refugee Aid Annual Fundraiser Ball.Shavit.He had completely forgotten about the event.Leia had spoken every year since its inaugural affair four years earlier, but had passed the proverbial baton to someone else when she found out she was pregnant with Ben.

There would be no investigating the Palace archives tonight.Not if Luke was going to avoid any of the women Leia had tried (and failed) to set him up with.

Grimacing and barely slowing down, Luke passed the Palace and merged into another lane of traffic.With his trip to Chandrila and then speaking at the Commencement of Coruscant’s top university, Luke wouldn’t be able to look for the texts until the following week at the earliest.Leia was always finding new things for him to do within the New Republic.

He tugged at the collar of his tunic.Growing up on Tatooine, he had simply wanted to travel the galaxy like his father, doing small business (if he had to think of work at all, which was a rare thought).Luke had never had any interest in government.Leia was skilled at diplomacy and speech-making and everything else Luke had no patience for.

Luke had loved being a pilot in the military, but had resigned his commission in order to be a Jedi, to commit to rebuilding the Jedi Order.It wasn’t _fair_ for everyone to always be ordering him around, distracting him from what he should be—

With a sigh, Luke abruptly stopped that train of thought.He was being ridiculous.Of course he would do anything for his sister and his friends, even if that meant putting aside the things he wanted.But if he was going to rebuild the Jedi Order, he would need to start with a student.Eventually, he would have to teach Ben.And there was no way for him to teach without a curriculum.

Everyone always called him Jedi Master Skywalker.He was the only Jedi in the galaxy; did that qualify him as a master?Luke had only a fraction of the knowledge that Ben or Master Yoda had, so how could he consider himself to be on their level?The only way to grow the Order was to continue his own education.

Luke told himself he would bring this up with Leia over the next few days.He would request that she not give him any New Republic business until he had time to go searching for the ancient Jedi texts.Determined that this would work and encouraged by his new plan, Luke felt like a weight had lifted from his shoulders.

By the time he reached his apartment, Luke was excited for tomorrow to come.

* * *

Mara stepped into the cockpit of the _Wild Karrde_ , and asked, “You wanted to see me, Karrde?Why are we out of hyperspace?”

“Sorry to wake you, Mara,” Karrde said gently, “but it’s an emergency.I need you to prepare the Headhunter for a quick takeoff.”

Before she could say anything, Dankin butted in.“I got fourteen cruisers around an Eta barge, and—”He interrupted himself with a harsh swear that made Ghent blush.“They’ve got an Interdictor!”

Mara’s stomach dropped.With an Interdictor in the area, the Wild Karrde wasn’t going anywhere.It would be hard enough to escape the gravity well in the Headhunter with the freighter as a distraction, but even if she got away, or whoever Karrde was planning on sending in the smaller craft, the rest would be easily picked up by the Empire.

Or whatever was left of it.

Karrde sighed.“That’s what I suspected,” he said grimly.Turning to Mara, he continued, “I need you to go on to Tatooine on your own.My contact there cannot be compromised.”

“Contact?” asked Mara.“I thought we were going there for a business deal.”

She could see a twinge of impatience in Karrde’s eyes and regretted speaking back to him.He was a good employer, she told herself.A good man.She wouldn’t lose her job over one misdemeanor.“It is a job from a man who prides himself on being highly placed within the New Republic.Much of our business relies on his discretion.”

Suitably chastised, Mara nodded.“Standard deal?”

Karrde looked back out to the Imperial ships.“Better offer up protection detail as well.He may not take it, but it would be wise to offer.I expect our friend will want to accompany you on the errand.”She guessed he noticed the confusion she allowed to show on her face, because Karrde said, “Whether the object is a family heirloom or rare artifact or escaped convict, apparently it has also come to the attention of the Imperial Remnant.Ghent says they’ve set up a base on Tatooine.We have no reason to be concerned, but—”

“I understand,” Mara said, though she disagreed.Anything involving the Empire was a reason to be concerned.And while there was no reason to suspect that any Imperial forces deployed on Tatooine would recognize her, Mara had no idea where she would fit in if caught.Not that she had any intention of returning to the Empire.

There was nothing left for her there anymore.

She had dragged herself out of the mire by the skin of her teeth, after everything she had ever known crashed and burned around her.

But that was in the past.

“Take this datastick,” Karrde said, holding a nondescript chip out in the palm of his hand.“It has all the information you’ll need, about the client and the deal.”He looked at her carefully, and Mara was struck by how old and tired he looked.She had only been part of his organization for less than a standard year, but she had quickly and easily fallen in with the group.Karrde had never shown any non-professional interest in her; he was her first employer to do so.It was almost paternal, the way he treated her.

Leaving him to the Imperials made Mara feel sick.

“What happened here?” she asked, looking out the viewport at the Imperial forces.

“Dunno,” answered Aves, looking over Chin’s shoulder at one of the scanners.“We were in hyperspace, minding our own business, and then—”

“You need to go, Mara,” Karrde said.“As soon as the Headhunter is ready.I don’t anticipate the job to take too long, so unless you hear from me sooner on the usual channels, let’s make rendezvous dorn in one month.”

“Yes, sir,” she replied, the words almost caught in her throat.A few months of working with decent people, and she was growing soft.What would the Emperor say if he saw her now?

She swiftly stopped that train of thought.

Mara kept watching him, waiting for some sign that he had a larger plan she just was not privy to, but then he gently tilted his head to the door, and Mara knew that was her cue to leave.She pursed her lips and nodded, then left without a backwards glance.

The lights in the corridor seemed dimmer.Maybe they were going dark to keep from the Imps as long as possible.Seemed reasonable enough, at least to someone who didn’t know better—like Mara.No one could run from the Empire forever.Not even her.

But she would damn well try.

The ship was prepped easily enough, and Mara was preparing for departure less than forty minutes after leaving the command deck.She had no personal belongings to speak of; she didn’t even return to her quarters.The Z-95 Headhunter was only large enough for one person, but Mara preferred it that way.She hated that it looked similar to an X-wing, hated that she could hypothetically be confused for a Rebel, but it was maneuverable and reliable.Plus Karrde had retrofitted this particular ship with a hyperdrive and ion cannon that would be much more useful than the standard missiles.

And while it helped that the Wild Karrde was already on its way to Tatooine, Mara knew she was still at least a fourteen hour trip through hyperspace away.That was more than enough time to read up on the job and prepare for the return to her past.She still had nightmares about the botched job at Jabba’s—the only mission she had ever truly failed.

Mara shivered at the thought, the memory and pain of the Emperor’s disappointment crossing her mind.

_YOU WILL KILL LUKE SKYWALKER._

“No,” Mara said aloud to herself.“You’re not doing this.Not now.You’ve got a job to do, and then you can think about your revenge.”

It wasn’t that simple, and Mara knew it.When she wasn’t having nightmares of her failure, she was plagued with dreams of killing Skywalker.Shooting him with her blaster, cutting him down with her long-lost lightsaber, strangling him with her bare hands... She knew he needed to feel completely helpless, to feel her grief and emptiness.

“No,” she repeated, pulling at her hair with shaking fingers.

Fourteen hours in hyperspace.The computer beeped to signal its completion of the hyperspace calculations, and Mara quickly engaged the hyperdrive.

As the stars began to turn to starlines, just before that tug in her gut that accompanied the jump to lightspeed, Mara saw off to port the sudden appearance of a new ship.

An Imperial Star Destroyer.

* * *

Captain Gilad Pellaeon stepped onto the bridge of the Imperial Star Destroyer _Chimaera_ , feeling refreshed from his double shift off.He crossed to the navigation displays, examining their current vector: Core-bound.The long-time Imperial soldier may doubt the chances of success that were put before him by the Empire’s leader, but he knew that it was not his place to ask questions.

“Are you wondering why we are going into Rebel territory, Captain?” asked a cool voice from behind his left shoulder.

“No, sir,” Pellaeon said, turning to meet the glowing red eyes of the being behind him.

Grand Admiral Mitth’raw’nuruodo chuckled quietly.“It is alright to be curious, Captain.I will explain anything you wish.”

“Alright, then, Admiral,” he responded firmly.“Why are we going into the Core?”

Thrawn walked towards the forward viewport, hands clasped behind his back.Pellaeon followed as the Grand Admiral said, “We are not going into the Core, Captain.Rather, we are going _towards_ the Core.An important distinction, but one that can be overlooked by the enemy.Having retreated to the very edges of the galaxy, returning to even the Outer Rim is significant.”

“And what is our objective in the Outer Rim, sir?I know we recently established a small base of sorts on the planet of Tatooine.”

Pellaeon could see the alien’s tight grin reflected in the viewport as he gazed out at the stars.“That is two-fold.Lord Vader occasionally made use of bounty hunters to seek out his enemies from places he could not normally go on the rare occasions he was unable to do so.The Emperor used a Hand to carry out his orders.Currently, the Empire has no operatives within the New Republic.Our first objective is to change that.

“The second,” he continued, “is to take back Imperial Center.That, of course, will be impossible without first accomplishing the former.”The grin widened fractionally, but it was enough to set Pellaeon’s teeth on edge.“We will first stop on the desert planet Tatooine, and drop off the one being who can deliver us both.”

Pellaeon heard the ancient and feared _snap-hiss_ before seeing a red glow reflected in the viewport, and repressed a shudder.


	4. Chapter Three

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I’m sorry that this wasn’t posted on Sunday. My grandfather got very ill over the last week and finally passed away last night. 
> 
> I am unhappy with this chapter, no matter how many times I’ve rewritten it. Hopefully you can find something pleasant in it.

_Chapter Three_

Three days had passed, and Mara was getting nowhere with Karrde’s contact.First off, he was two days late.Second, he wasn’t interested in protection.Last, he kept coming on to her and it was really starting to piss her off.

“I don’t need you to teach me to dance, Calrissian,” Mara said, barely keeping her tone civil.“I need you to tell me what you want Karrde to do for you.”

“Can I trust you, Miss Jade?” asked Lando Calrissian in that sickly sweet voice of his.

“You can trust Karrde,” she replied.

He looked at war with himself for a minute, but then glanced down at the chrono on his wrist and grimaced.“Fine.You mentioned protection.I don’t need it for me, because I’m out of the picture once I leave this table.You need to keep the object safe.Keep it out of the Empire’s hands.”

“This is all very vague,” Mara said.

Calrissian slid a datastick across the table, but kept his fingers on it.“This is more important than you know.Karrde used to have a base on Myrkr, right?I visited him there once years ago.You need some of those lizards.”

Mara’s brow furrowed.“An object can’t be Force-sensitive.”

“Look, if I hadn’t personally seen the Force being used by someone I trusted completely, I wouldn’t believe it either.I don’t know much about the object, but the people looking for it will be dangerous, and powerful.I don’t know what kind of defenses it’s currently under, but it’s probably heavily guarded.According to my sources,” clarified Calrissian.“Everything I know is on this datastick.Use only a secure datapad to view this, no external connections, no transmissions of any kind.If this information fell into anyone else’s hands...”

The ramifications hung in the air between them.

Well.If anyone was good at fixing things other people screwed up, it was Mara Jade.

She nodded.“Fine.We want half up front, and half on completion.”

Calrissian pushed the datastick towards her and once it was in her fingers, placed a credit chit before her.“This should be more than enough.The New Republic is very grateful for your assistance.”

Mara hummed as she pocketed the datastick and the credits.“Sure.”

“Now,” he said, drumming his fingers on the table and leaning back in his chair.“How about a drink?”

She barely refrained from rolling her eyes.“You can’t afford a drink with me.”

He was balancing on the two back legs of the chair, and Mara wondered if she could get away with using the Force to push him over.She almost tried it, but didn’t want to find out if it would work or not.Her connection to the Force was still spotty, even being far from Myrkr.Occasionally, she would think she felt something, would grasp for it... Nothing ever happened.Maybe her abilities really were linked to the Emperor, and she was only good for party tricks now.Party tricks and nightmares.

Feeling an emptiness in her stomach and hearing the hiss of a whisper in the back of her mind, Mara stood.“It’s been a pleasure working with you, Calrissian,” she said professionally. “I’ll contact you when the job is done.”

“Thank you, Miss Jade,” he said, that smooth voice running icy down her spine.He lifted his drink in a salute as she backed away.

If the air inside the cantina was stifling, the air outside was heavy.Even in the dark, the heat beat down on Mara’s shoulders, reminding her of another time.She pulled her cowl up over her hair and started toward the room she had rented from an elderly woman under a false name. 

The walk was short, thankfully.Mara was able to sneak past the old lady and up to her room.Knowing Tatooine’s history, Mara was aware that these were likely old slave quarters.She didn’t have a particular opinion on that, other than she knew how the Hutts treated the beings they owned.No doubt this woman thought Luke Skywalker was her savior.

“Doesn’t matter,” Mara muttered as she palmed the door release and it slid shut behind her.The room was bare, with only a thin bed and wobbly chair, but that didn’t bother Mara.She was used to having nothing.At least the room had a bed this time.

Forgoing both the bed and the chair, Mara folded her legs beneath her as she sat, and closed her eyes.That whisper in her head was growing to a hum.She listened, first only hearing the noise from outside, the starships leaving the spaceport, her own heartbeat.

But then that all melted away, and Mara was alone.If she could train herself to use the Force again, maybe she could save Karrde and the others.They had to be in Imperial custody by now, hopefully still alive.She didn’t know who was leading the Empire these days, but there was no one she wanted to cross.She didn’t even know who was left.

Opening her eyes, Mara dug the datacard out of her pocket and placed it on the floor in front of her.She stared at it for a long moment, willing it to rise up in the air before her.

Nothing.

She tried again.

And again.

Mara stuck out her hand and gritted her teeth.She could do this—for Karrde, for the only loyalty she had left.

Nothing.

“Come on, damn it,” she said, frustrated at her lack of ability.There had been a time when this was child’s play.Now it was impossible.

Finally, she gave up, and placed her face in her hands.She felt surrounded by failure lately.There was so much on the line—

But was there?Mara had an obligation to Karrde, to his crew, but it wasn’t just out of professional courtesy from employee to employer.She had grown to like them, to think of them as allies rather than simply colleagues.Now they were in the the hands of the Empire, and Mara knew more than anyone how bloody those hands were.

Mara closed her eyes, exhaled slowly, and reached out her hand.

* * *

All Luke could hear around him was the echo of his own footsteps on the marble floors.Even after spending five years knowing that Coruscant was a free planet, it was strange to be in a place that was filled with Darkness.Only Luke could sense the lingering feel of the Dark Side; not even Leia was bothered by it.The oppressive slime permeated the sense of the building, smothering any traces of Light that could still exist from before the Empire.

This had once been the Jedi Temple.Palpatine had taken it, and bastardized it into the center of his Empire, the heart of evil.There was something calling to him here, some whisper in the Force that had guided his path before.It brought him here; Luke thought it would lead him still in the days and weeks to come.

He could feel its tug in his gut, pulling him deeper into the Temple, pulling him out, pulling him—

_A chill runs down his spine, whispers ring in his ears.A brutal wind whips around his head, blowing sand into his eyes; he raises a hand to protect his face.There are two familiar suns high in the sky, bearing heat down on his black-covered body._

_“Are you ready for this?” a voice asks him from his right shoulder.He looks down, but the woman’s face is unremarkable, blurred.There is a squeeze on his artificial hand—the synthskin is gone, he realizes with a flash of shock—and finally registers that she has been holding his hand the whole time.There is a linen scarf wrapped around her head, heavy goggles covering her eyes from the sand._

_“With you?” he finds himself saying. “Always.”_

_He knows she is smiling at him, and he gives her hand a reassuring squeeze.There is some sort of ship approaching in the distance, and he can feel her tense.He, too, is uneasy.The ship is resonating Darkness, and he feels the flicker of worry in her Force sense.She is afraid—afraid of falling to the Dark Side._

_The woman knows that he is feeling her emotions, and looks up at him.He wishes he knew the color of her eyes; he feels that is important.While he cannot see it, he knows her expression is serious.“Luke,” she says, and the way she says it makes him think she doesn’t say his name often, “I need you to remember what we talked about.The promise you made.”_

_He nods, though he doesn’t know what she means._

_They both look out at the rapidly approaching ship._

_Then—_

_The same sand, the same heat, but different air, a different wind.A blaster, pointed at his face.“What the hell are you doing here?” the woman asks.He knows beyond the shadow of a doubt that it is the same woman who shared her fears with him in another time._

_Then—_

_Darkness permeates the air, seeps into his bones, courses through his veins.There is a terrifying presence nearby that he knows should terrify him, but it warms him inside; he feels safe and whole, despite the chill._

_“Luke!”_

_Then—_

_Han is laughing, sputters when Chewbacca slaps him on the back.Apparently Luke has said something funny, but he has no idea what.There is a yank on his trousers, and he looks down to see a small boy with Han’s swagger and Leia’s eyes.Ben.He smiles down at his nephew, sees a small flash of something he doesn’t recognize on the child’s face.But then it’s gone as quickly as it came, and Luke thinks nothing of it._

_Then—_

_A hand wraps around the nape of his neck, nimble fingers brushing through his hair.He grins, and feels a puff of air against his chin as the woman in his arms laughs.Her delicate hand starts to pull his head down, until their lips meet._

_Then—_

_He is flying his X-wing through a stormy atmosphere, Artoo twittering in the background.A datapad is lying open on his thigh, the image of an ancient dagger on its screen.Turbulence jolts the ship, and the datapad clatters to the floor._

_Then—_

Luke opened his eyes, felt the cool marble below his palms.He was on his hands and knees in the long corridor of the ancient Jedi Archives—what was left of them.Outside, the sky was dark, only illuminated by the neon signs of businesses and the rushing speeders passing by.

How much time had passed?

He had only had a vision like this once before—when he was on Dagobah for the first time, training with Master Yoda.This time, he was paralyzed with the same fear and felt the same urge to move, to run to the places and people he loved, but also felt more clarity with these scenes.There was an extreme amount of uncertainty when he had the vision of Vader torturing his friends on Bespin, but there was less of that now.

Even then, the visions were slipping away, growing hazier.“No,” he murmured to himself, closing his eyes and settling back on his heels.Luke raised his hands to his temples, trying to save the visions within his memories, to keep them from slipping away like a dream.

He didn’t know if he could process them right away; there were a million thoughts running through his mind.Something called to him from the hall to his right.

Slowly, Luke rose to his feet and took a hesitant step in that direction.

 _Luke_ , said a voice.Pausing, Luke twisted his head around to look for the speaker. _Luke_ , the voice said again, and he finally placed it, though there was no physical body or even a Force ghost for him to see.

“Ben?”

_These are your first steps._

He didn’t have to hear anything else to know that Ben was gone.Something twisted in Luke’s stomach.It had been so long since there was anyone else in his mind that was not his sister; he suddenly felt an extreme sense of loneliness.He had to push it away, stuff it down deep to revisit later.

The vision left him on edge, feeling like he was on a precipice, on the verge of losing his balance.

Luke shook his head and began to walk.It didn’t take long for him to realize why the Force had pushed him in this direction.

There was a soft blue light glowing from a crack in the floor.He dropped to his knees and ran his fingers along the line.Whispers hissed in the back of his brain.Using the Force, Luke gingerly lifted the ancient tile, praying it wouldn’t crumble.Once the heavy stone was carefully set down beside him, Luke reached down into the small cavity below.

It was a holocron, a small blue cube with gold edges and corners.He lifted it, using the Force to turn the corners.Luke only knew what it was because Ben had mentioned it offhand on their way to Alderaan, and Luke had since done research.While most Jedi research was impossible to conduct, holocrons were easy enough to learn about; the Sith had holocrons, too.

The Force rang in his ears and the light turned blinding.Squinting his eyes and turning his head fractionally, Luke struggled to see.The message was so corrupted with age and Dark influence that Luke could barely understand it.

But it was Ben’s voice.

As he rose to his feet, Luke thought back to the visions he had had mere moments before.All of the unease he had been feeling for the last several months—hell, the last several years—melted away, all of his uncertainties vanished.The Force had been urging him along this whole time, leading back to the place where everything began.

Tatooine.


	5. Chapter Four

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> 1.) Sorry this took forever.  
> 2.) Happy New Year!  
> 3.) I have unashamedly stolen phrases from various things for this chapter, notably _Doctor Who_ , _Hercules_ , and _Anastasia the Musical_. Not mine, obviously.
> 
> Enjoy!

The twin suns beat down on Luke Skywalker’s back with a familiarity that was both welcoming and somber.It felt like a cup of his Aunt Beru’s blue milk: a comfort from his childhood that was long gone, that would never be the same, no matter how many times he tried.The last time he was in Mos Eisley, he was with Leia and Han and Chewie, after freeing Han from Jabba’s Palace.

Uncle Owen had only ever taken Luke into Mos Espa as a child, and only a handful of times at that.The older man had preferred to stay in Anchorhead, far away from the cities that were closer to Imperial influence.Luke had always assumed that his uncle was simply a homebody, unwilling to be away from his wife for more than a day.Now he realized that maybe it was to keep Luke’s existence as much a secret as possible.

But Mos Espa was smaller than Mos Eisley, and he was more likely to be recognized in that city.

Therefore, he landed his X-wing in Mos Eisley, bringing Luke home for the first time in five years.Just as he had half a decade before, Luke rented a speeder and set out for Anchorhead.

The kiss of sand on his neck reminded him of the last time he was here.

“I can’t believe this is where you grew up,” a harsh voice had said from Luke’s right.

He’d winced.“Well, we can’t all grow up in palaces, Leia,” he’d snapped, then grimaced at his own tone.He had looked over at his friend and frowned.“I’m sorry.I shouldn’t have... I didn’t mean to say it like that.”

The last princess of Alderaan had reached up and patted Luke on the shoulder.“It’s okay,” Leia said.“I know we had very different upbringings, and I should remember that not everyone was as fortunate as I was.”

Luke had almost felt her thinking, _But at least you still have a home._ Now he wondered if he actually had.

Tatooine wasn’t his home anymore, though.Even now, nine years after he first left.There was nothing left for him here.The only reason Luke had come back now was because he felt the Force was leading him here for some inexplicable reason, possibly to find something Ben had left for him before they left Tatooine together.If any Jedi records survived the Purge, surely they had been held by Obi-Wan Kenobi.

“Come on,” he had said, grabbing Leia’s hand and pulling her back towards their rented speeder.Artoo had already been loaded on, so it was easy to put away their few belongings, wave to Chewbacca and Lando, and head out towards Anchorhead.

The six hours passed excruciatingly slow at first, until Leia started asking him for stories about growing up here.While difficult to talk about at first, it eventually grew easier to tell her about his family and the others he grew up with.Leia had known of Biggs Darklighter, had spoken with him a few times during his brief tenure in the Alliance before being killed protecting Luke on the Death Star.

He had told her of Camie and Fixer, of Windy and Deak and Tank, the time they spent at Tosche Station, avoiding responsibilities like the children they were, but insisting they were adults.

Force, Luke felt so old now.

To think that it was only nine years ago that he was racing through Beggar’s Canyon, shooting womp rats for fun, with no idea that he would soon be doing the same thing, but with millions of lives at stake—

There was no point in dwelling on the past.He had taken his family for granted; he knew that now.

He wouldn’t make the same mistake twice.

“Almost there,” Luke said to himself, recognizing an echo of the Force in his surroundings.Maybe Ben would visit him here, or the ghost of his father.

Anakin Skywalker had grown up in Mos Espa, as a slave.Luke knew that objectively, but it was hard to imagine Darth Vader as a child, working for nothing, just a piece of property.

Then again, he had never really escaped slavery, had he?Just knelt to a new master.Until Vader rose up and destroyed him, all to protect his son and daughter.

“What am I doing, Father?” Luke asked aloud, staring out at the sand dunes.There was no response, not that he really expected one.Perhaps his father’s ghost preferred to avoid the place where he had last seen his own mother.

Luke wondered about his mother.He and Leia had gone digging through Imperial and what was left of the Old Republic’s archives, but could find no record of Anakin Skywalker ever being married.That made sense, though, as Luke knew that Jedi were forbidden from having attachments.Uncle Owen and Aunt Beru might have known her, but they never said anything about her.It wasn’t like Luke would have asked; he was too awed by his space-faring father, intent on being just like him when he grew up—out in the stars seeking adventure.

Well, he had ended up in the stars, but not in the way Luke ever intended.

Sand blew across his face, and Luke rose his hand to keep the worst of it from his eyes.There was a familiar haze on the horizon, and Luke knew he should be getting indoors soon.He had learned long ago not to mess around when it came to sandstorms.Ben’s homestead wasn’t too much further, maybe another ten klicks.

But for some reason, he felt that the Force wanted him to stop here, and perch on his rented speeder.Luke pulled out his macrobinoculars and scanned the desert, looking for anything that could have given him this prickle on the back of his neck.

He saw a handful of banthas, unattended.That was never good, particularly when accompanied by the feeling that he needed to go out there.Luke felt for the familiar weight of his lightsaber on his hip, and swung his legs into the speeder.His hands relied on muscle memory as Luke allowed the Force to guide his movements, taking him further into the desert, towards the sandstorm in the distance.

—There, below the drop off of the outcropping.

He saw five Sand People surrounding a slight figure—a girl, by the looks of it.Luke sped up until he was close to the edge, then immediately stopped the vehicle and jumped out, unlit lightsaber in hand.

The girl was fighting rough, like she knew what she was doing.Luke hesitated; she clearly had the fight well under control.He watched as she suddenly had a small blaster in her hand—where the hell had that come from?—and took out two Sand People in quick succession.

Annoyance washed over him, jolting him from his daze.He wasn’t annoyed.Fascinated?Sure.A little terrified?Of course.But annoyed?Then Luke realized that it wasn’t he who was annoyed.

It was _her_.The girl fighting the Tusken Raiders _had the Force_.

All at once, Luke reached out through the Force down towards her, and she glanced up at him, just as one of the three Sand People left raised his staff and brought it down towards the back of her head.Her eyes were still on Luke as she dropped and spun, throwing her leg out to sweep the opponent off his feet.She hadn’t even been looking at her attacker.

Luke felt himself jump off the outcropping, landing with a grace that Yoda had taught him long ago.He felt no strain as he ran towards the battle, appreciating the comforting weight of his lightsaber in his hand.Ben had told him that if were ever to encounter Sand People while in possession of his lightsaber, to be cautious, as their kind had a history with the Jedi.

But he had the Force, and that was more than the Tusken Raiders had.

Extending his arms, he threw the three monsters to the ground, and—

Three quick blasts, and each of them fell still.

The girl—the woman—turned around to face Luke, pointed her tiny blaster in his face, and spat, “What the hell are you doing here?”

Surprised, Luke felt his jaw drop, a sense of deja vu washing over him.“I, uh,” he stammered, wondering what Han would say in this situation.“It looked like you could use some help.”

“I had it well under control, _thank you_ ,” she said, but Luke was barely listening.Her eyes were green and her Force sense glowed bright as he reached out to her.A gentle probe towards her mind and—

Walls slammed up between them.Luke flinched.

“Keep the kriff out of my head,” the woman snarled.

Luke raised his hands.“Sorry,” he began, “I thought you could use the assistance, and I’ve never just run into someone who was Force sensitive before.”He ran his eyes over her.She was wearing a tight, sleeveless jumpsuit with a white linen scarf around her neck.The skin on her arms was pink where it had been irritated by the sand.“The Sand People can be really difficult sometimes, especially if you don’t know how to deal with them—”

“What makes you think I don’t know how to deal with them?” she interrupted, fastening the blaster into the holster on her forearm.So that’s where it had come from.

He gestured vaguely at her person.“You don’t look like you’re from here.You’ve got too much, um, skin exposed.”Luke tried his hardest not to flush with embarrassment.He was too old to act like this.

The woman glanced down at her attire, at the abrasions on her arms.“I’m a big, tough girl,” she snapped.“I clean my own blasters and everything.”

“I’m not saying you don’t,” Luke said.“It just seemed like the right thing to do.”He paused, considering whether he should offer to take her back to Ben’s hut and let her clean up, maybe catch her bearings.“A friend of mine has a house near here, if you want to—”

She gave him a dirty look.

Again, Luke raised his hands.“I’m not trying to coerce you into doing anything you don’t want to do.But there’s a haze on the horizon that looks like a sandstorm, and you don’t want to be out here when that hits.”

The girl studied him with narrowed eyes.Eventually, she seemed to accept that he wasn’t a threat to her, and said, “Fine.But only because I don’t feel like drowning in sand.”

Luke couldn’t help but feel a little lift in his chest.“Good.I’m sure we can find some more appropriate desert clothes for you, though they might be a little big.”

He looked her over once more.She was slight, and short, and looked fragile, which he knew was just a deception.He wouldn’t have needed to see her fight to know she was dangerous.It was written all over her Force sense.

“Come on,” Luke said with a nod to his right.“It’s about ten kilometers or so that way.My speeder is up the hill.”

The woman’s eyes narrowed further.“How did you end up over here?”

Luke shrugged.“I felt conflict in the Force and rushed after it.”Which, now that he thought about it, always seemed to happen right before he got into some sort of trouble.He led the way to a steep crawl way up the side of the canyon with plenty of rocks and bushes to grab on to.“Are you a Jedi?Who trained you?”

She scoffed.“I most certainly am _not_ one of those fools.”

Something inside Luke wilted.So she knew how to use the Force, but she thought the Jedi were foolish.That didn’t add up.Still, he said, “I’m Luke Skywalker.”

“Yeah, I know who you are,” she barked.Luke started.He was certain that he had never before met her in his life.And yet...

He offered her a smile that she ignored.She raised an eyebrow and Luke ducked his head, beginning the arduous climb up the rock.Once he reached the top, he knelt back down and stuck out his hand to pull her up.Even though she gave him a sharp glare, the woman took his hand and allowed him to help her.

The trek across the sand was easy enough, and they reached Ben’s hut with plenty of time before the storm hit.Luke directed the woman to cover up all the house’s openings with any blankets or linens she could find, covering up the speeder as best he could by himself.Once every task had been completed to Luke’s satisfaction, the pair hunkered down in the clay adobe and settled in to wait out the storm.

Luke waited for her to say something first.Occasionally, he would catch her staring at him with those piercing eyes, only to immediately look anywhere else but at him.The silence weighed heavily on him, and he could tell that she was perfectly content to sit without saying anything.Eventually, he dragged out two cups and a dusty bottle of liquor he vaguely remembered Ben hiding before, then poured two shots.

The woman huffed and drummed her fingers on the table.

“You got a name?” asked Luke.“Since you seem to know mine.”

“Everyone knows you,” she snapped.“Only one idiot in the galaxy runs around with a lightsaber on his hip.Besides, it just so happens that I’ve been waiting years for this chance to meet you.”

Again, she took Luke by surprise.“Why?”

Her eyes were piercing as she stared at him, and Luke felt more scrutinized than he had in years.“You ruined my life, destroyed everything I ever had.For that,” she said coldly, “you deserve to die.”

The woman’s hands were on the table, so Luke could see if she would reach for that nasty-looking blaster on her wrist, but if she had the Force then it wouldn’t really matter.She could kill him in a dozen ways without moving a muscle.

“I’m sorry... What?”

“You took _everything_ from me,” she growled, taking the shot he’d set before her.“I’ve spent five years dreaming about how I’m going to kill you.How I’m going to take everything from you, too.”Something in her voice changed, emotion creeping into her tone.

Outside, the wind howled and brief gusts snuck sand in through the cracks.Luke could do nothing but stare at her, though the Force was giving him no warnings about any sudden attacks from her.He looked away, only to take one of the shots sitting before him.It had been years since he’d had real starshine, not the stuff they sold to tourists in the Core. 

She had to be the reason that the Force insisted on his journey to Tatooine.

Her presence in the Force was strange, something he couldn’t quite put his finger on.She seemed almost ambiguous, like she wasn’t wholly in the Light or the Dark.Both Ben and Yoda had seemed serene, where Vader—his _father_ —was chaotic.The woman seemed to have qualities of both, but in a somehow more disturbing way.

She made him uncomfortable.

Luke shivered, like a chill had run down his spine, and he wrapped his arms around himself.But no, he wasn’t cold.Remembering the wash of annoyance earlier, Luke looked over to her, and saw her skin broken out into prickles.The sandstorm outside had drowned out most of the sunlight, leaving the room illuminated by glowrods spread around.

“Unfortunately,” she said finally, “I think I need your help.And I think you need mine.”

He looked at her and waited for her to say more.When she remained silent, he asked, “How do I know you aren’t waiting for me to turn my back so you can shoot me?”

She laughed.“When I kill you, Luke Skywalker, it’s going to be face to face.”

“Oh, I definitely want to help you now.”

The scowl returned at his sarcasm.“I need someone who can use the Force.I—” she paused, and though her face was blank, Luke knew she was warring with herself to ask this of him.“I can’t do this on my own.”

Luke looked at her carefully.She was dangerous, but she didn’t seem threatening.And she obviously was the reason the Force sent him back to Tatooine.Whatever he did to anger her was in the past, and it looked like she was trying to get past that—at least temporarily.Plus—if he could fight Darth Vader and survive, he was pretty sure he could handle this girl.

“What’s the job?” he asked.

“I’m looking for something.”

“That’s really helpful.”

She shrugged.“Like my employer, I don’t give away information for free.”

“And who is that?”

“Wouldn’t you like to know.”

Her replies were fast, leaving Luke’s head spinning.She was something else; Han would like her.It wasn’t like Luke was doing anything crucial to the safety of the galaxy right now.Rebuilding the Jedi Order would take time, and if he was able to help someone on the way, he would do it.He was already at Ben’s; the information he was seeking would either be here or it wouldn’t.And really, he couldn’t start a new Order without other Force-sensitive beings.

Only the Force could have brought them together like this.

“I came in my X-wing,” Luke said.“Little hard to fit two in there.”

“I have a lead on a ship,” the woman said.“I have a source who is willing to provide whatever I need in order to finish the job.”

“And that is?”

“I told you: I’m looking for something,” she answered.

“I’m gonna need something more than vague details if I’m going to help you,” Luke told her.“At least a name.”With a name, he could at least find out who she worked for, how he possibly could have ruined her life.

She watched him carefully, clearing weighing her options.Finally, she sighed and said, “Mara.Mara Jade.”

* * *

After the woman—Mara Jade—had closed her eyes (he knew there was no way she was sleeping around someone she didn’t know, someone she had pledged to kill), Luke started searching for Ben’s journals or any holocrons he may have left behind.

Despite being such a small hut, it took Luke nearly an hour to find it: a box, hidden within a secret compartment in the conservator, of all places.Written on the lid was _For Luke Skywalker._ Inside were nineteen notebooks, handwritten inside, like something from ancient history.He selected one at random and opened it.

It was a diary.Flipping through it, Luke saw entries detailing the things Ben did that day, the dreams he had.Occasionally, Luke saw his own name.There seemed to be an entry for almost every day.Nineteen notebooks—one for every year of Luke’s life.

These weren’t the ancient texts, but maybe there was a clue inside about how to find the books.Regardless, it warmed Luke to know that someone had been watching—caring—all along.He found the oldest book, opening it to the first page.

_Polis Massa - Padme had the twins; she named them Luke and Leia.She did not survive.Anakin is dead.The children are orphans.Bail, Yoda, and I feel they need to be separated, in case Darth Vader goes looking for them.As far as I knew, Anakin only knew of one child._

_Hyperspace - I am taking the boy to be raised by his father’s family on Tatooine_.

Luke read until the sand cleared and the suns rose again.


	6. Chapter Five

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Buckle up, because here we go.

It physically pained Mara to be leading Luke Skywalker through the spaceport to Calrissian’s ship.Hopefully the man himself was long gone; she knew that he and Skywalker were friends, and she didn’t want Calrissian knowing her ultimate goal of killing Skywalker. 

There wasn’t much she could do to encourage Skywalker to leave his droid with his ship, but she’d known that was probably never going to happen.He and the droid were inseparable, apparently.Had been for years.

Mara was kicking herself for staying on this planet one minute longer than she initially had to.She should have finished up her meeting with Calrissian, dug around just enough to answer some questions, then left.But no.Of course she had to follow up a lead on a sniper who was last seen in the deserts.A bounty hunter, sent after the same target she had been hired to find.

As was her luck, the bounty hunter was long gone.Probably dead.

And now she was stuck with the one man she hated most in all the galaxy.

Unfortunately, Mara really did need help.She couldn’t rely on her untrustworthy Force abilities, especially if this mysterious target really was dangerous to beings who were Force-sensitive.Skywalker would be able to subdue the target or at least sense its whereabouts.But if the target was on a planet like Myrkr, there was little even he could do.In fact, without the Force, he would probably slow her down.

There was also the unfortunate problem of Mara’s sketchy connection to the Force, to the nightmares that had been plaguing her, to the voice that still rattled around the back of her head.She felt that compulsion to pull the holdout off her wrist and aim it—

_YOU WILL KILL LUKE SKYWALKER._

But no.No.Not yet.

They turned the corner and—

“The _Lady Luck_?” Skywalker said incredulously.“Your source is Lando Calrissian?”

Damn.She had been hoping he wouldn’t recognize the ship so quickly.Calrissian said he hadn’t had it for very long, but apparently long enough.“I didn’t realize you knew him,” she lied smoothly.

If he could see through her lie, he didn’t say so.“We’re old friends.I actually saw him recently, when my sister had her baby.He’s been helping me with... Never mind.”

When Mara had lowered the boarding ramp, she gestured for him to go up into the yacht first.It was clear that he had, indeed, been on this ship before, for after using the Force to lift the droid (jealousy spiked; how easy he made it look), he headed straight past the pool and down the stairs to the habitation deck.Following him, Mara watched as he trailed his fingers along the walls and over the doors that led to various supply closets and cabins.She brushed past him, and walked directly into the bridge.

She started the preflight checks, and called back to him over her shoulder, “I’m going to need forty-five minutes to get everything set up, then we can leave.”

There was no response, and Mara sighed.It would take several minutes for the computers to start up, let alone the engines, so it probably wouldn’t be a terrible idea to go make sure Skywalker wasn’t getting himself into trouble.She needed him compliant and manageable, but to still think he had some say in what was going on.

She didn’t have to go far.As soon as she stepped into the slightly larger corridor outside the bridge she saw two feet sticking out of a supply closet.“If you’re looking for a place to bunk down, Skywalker, I’d be more than happy to show you to a cabin.”

He said something, but his words were muffled by whatever was in that closet.

“Sorry, I didn’t catch that,” she said, then had to quickly shuffle out of the way as he suddenly backed out, dragging two small crates with him.

Once his head was clear and he had his cargo, Skywalker turned and looked up at her with a big smile on his face.“I said that I was getting supplies.”

Mara glanced down at the crates.“And you know what that is because...”

“It’s mine,” he said, patting one of the crates with his hand.He nodded his head at the other.“And my sister’s.I figure her stuff should fit you, and clearly you don’t have many belongings with you.”

He wasn’t wrong, though she didn’t want to admit it.Calrissian had taken the Headhunter, and she was able to get her go bag out before he did.Between that and the few articles of clothing she had purchased to help herself blend in with the locals, Mara was going to be doing laundry a lot.

Skywalker kept talking, oblivious to her distraction.“We all keep stuff on the various ships we travel on.The _Falcon_ probably has the most, since we lived on it for a while during and after the war, and I’ve got stuff in my X-wing, of course—but we’ve stashed some things here, too.”

As he pried the lid off of the one that belonged to his sister, Mara took a few steps away, approaching the cabin she had put her bag in when Calrissian was showing her around.Right next to the ‘fresher, it was slightly smaller than the others, but she didn’t mind.As she keyed the entry, the lights in the room came on, her bag its only content that wasn’t part of the ship.

Mara didn’t have many things at all, not like she used to, but almost all of what she had to her name was scattered around Karrde’s bases.What would it be like to have so much stuff that it wouldn’t be missed if it were in someone else’s home?

She remembered the Emperor once telling her that hands did not need jewelry, but could still collect it.The metaphor was not lost on her, his Hand.

She straightened her back and turned to see Skywalker staring at her.“What?” she asked harshly.

He rose and offered the crate to her.“Here,” he said.“This ship gets really cold out of atmo.Han thinks it’s because whoever is with Lando will want to get closer to him if they’re cold.”

“I’m fine with what I have,” Mara said.“I don’t need your sister’s castoffs.”She could see that her words struck a blow on Skywalker, but she couldn’t bring herself to care.

There was a loud chime signaling the completion of the computer’s power cycle, and Mara stepped past him without another word.

The rest of the checks went without a hitch, and soon Mara was calling ATC for departure clearance.Skywalker slipped into the cockpit and down onto the co-pilot’s seat.When they were free to go, Mara engaged the repulsor-lifts and the ship rose into the air.The spaceport wasn’t very busy.In fact, it was rather empty.Suspiciously empty.

“I don’t like this,” she muttered at the same time Skywalker said, “I have a bad feeling about this.”

She glanced at him, then down at the ground.Suddenly, the ship stopped moving.“What the hell?”

Skywalker was looking at the instrument panel.“There’s no reason for us to be frozen like this.It’s almost like—”

They felt it at the same time: a Dark presence.Mara met Skywalker’s eyes again, and asked, “Would you rather fly or shoot?”

“Lando hasn’t done many upgrades,” Skywalker said quickly.“All we have is a five laser cannons and spotty deflector shields.”

At least he could use the Force.Mara huffed, “Okay, then.You shoot, I’ll fly.”

With a nod, Skywalker activated the laser cannons, bringing them from their storage positions within the hull.Mara struggled against the Force holding the ship in place, barely able to rotate the ship so it was angled toward the ground and not the sky.Who the hell was out there?

Skywalker fired the first bolt straight at the black-cloaked figure; they couldn’t see the person’s face.Just as the bolt was approaching—almost in slow motion—the person drew out a lightsaber and ignited it—a brilliant red.Mara’s stomach dropped. Who the _hell_ was that?

The _Lady Luck_ shook as the bolt was deflected right back at them, hitting the fuselage.She worked at turning the ship again, fighting against the Force hold.She thought only the Emperor and Vader were powerful enough for this, so who was out there?Thankfully, Skywalker was distracting the robed figure enough that the Force grip was weakening.“Diverting twenty percent more power to the aft deflectors,” she said as she did so.

“Only twenty?” asked Skywalker, taking two more shots.This time, the deflected bolts hit the shields and not the ship.

Mara gritted her teeth.“Do you plan on staying here very long?”

Skywalker was silent, though she still felt his disagreement.

She increased power to the engines and heard a chirp from behind her.“Artoo!” exclaimed Skywalker.The droid had somehow gotten into the bridge.Joy.It twittered again, and Skywalker said, “Artoo’s got the jump coordinates when we’re ready.”

Eyebrows furrowed, Mara said, “We haven’t left atmo yet.”

“Just trust him,” Skywalker implored.She didn’t have time to argue.There was a brief flare of pain through the Force, and Skywalker said, “He missed a shot, caught him in the shoulder.”

It was enough of a distraction to release the hold on the ship, letting Mara lift them higher in the sky, hopefully out of the figure’s range of ability.She went (probably) too fast, as she felt the pressure on her chest from G-forces, but then they were in the black of space.

The droid made another noise, and Skywalker reached across to Mara’s station, inputting information.If she wasn’t so shocked at his audacity, she might have said something.She would have to correct him later.

But then the stars turned into star lines, and Mara could breathe again.

* * *

Dinner was a quiet affair.Lando kept his galley well-stocked with food and alcohol, but it was clear that Mara had no plans on having anything to do with Luke.She had taken a ration bar out of a cabinet (which she must have provided because Luke knew that Lando _hated_ ration bars with a passion) and carried it off to her cabin.

Luke used some water for what Lando referred to as “peasant fare” but reminded Luke of growing up.He stirred in the powder and watched as it rose to create a sort of bread.Aunt Beru used to make something similar when they were struggling financially after a bad harvest.

Eventually, Luke sat at the banquette, composing a message to Leia on his datapad.They had left Tatooine and jumped to lightspeed too quickly for him to send anything more than a brief missive telling her that he didn’t know when he would talk to her again because he had found a lead to follow.He really wanted to speak with her, and see Han and Ben, but that, of course, was impossible in hyperspace.

Luke shivered, despite the heat of Han’s jacket that Luke had found in Leia’s crate.Motion caught his eye, and he saw Mara walk across the room to the galley.“I made caf if you want some,” he called to her.There was a not-quite stumble in her step (he could sense her surprise at his words), but she recovered gracefully and nodded her thanks.

As she grabbed a mug and filled it with caf, then added a large splash of some golden liquor, Luke saw her hands shaking slightly.Knowing he was just going to get chewed out, but unwilling to see her suffer despite her pride, Luke got up to grab the clothes Leia left.When he returned, he offered them to her directly.

Mara stared at him, then at the clothes.Set her mug on the table as she watched him.He could see her warring with herself, deciding whether to admit weakness and accept help, or remain stubborn and strong and independent.

Luke winced as stone barriers slammed against him.“You know, you don’t always have to be so forceful with that,” he said, rubbing his forehead absentmindedly.

She glared up at him, then snatched the garments from his hand.“Stay out of my head, Skywalker.”Luke took a step back to sit back down in the booth, and she stretched up, raising her shirt above her head to pull it off.

He felt his face warm as his eyes darted away.

Mara chuckled meanly.“What, you’ve never seen a woman before?”

Luke knew that his face reddened even further as he stared deliberately at the blank wall across the room.“Just trying to be polite.”

He sensed her roll her eyes.“Wide eyed farmboy from a tenth rate planet somehow manages to take out an Imperial space station and fancies himself a hero, can’t even manage to enjoy the allure of a woman’s body.”

Anger rushed through him briefly—met her eyes—before he got his emotions under control, and looked away again.“I can respect you—”

“So you don’t like women,” she said blandly.He could hear her rustling with the clothes.

Another spark of anger.“I like women just _fine_ ,” he interjected, only to be cut off.

“Then you don’t like me,” she amended, and he knew there was a smirk on her face.“Probably got your eye on some princess, or—”

Luke spun his gaze back to her, and nearly jolted when he saw her in only her basics.He fought the urge to look away again, instead deliberately glancing at her body and saying, “You have a very nice figure.Would you like to put some clothes on now?I was under the impression that you were cold.”

Her victorious-looking grin quickly turned into a grimace.“Look into my head _one more time_ —”

“I wasn’t,” he interrupted, having had enough of her attitude.“You’re _projecting_.Quite loudly, actually.So quit screaming into my head and keep your thoughts to yourself.”

She maintained eye contact for a long moment before tugging Leia’s woolen tunic over her head and sliding the matching leggings up to her hips.Once dressed, Mara huffed and sat down in the booth opposite, staring at the mug before her.

They sat in silence for several minutes, until Luke finally let his curiosity get the better of him and asked, “Where did you learn to use the Force like that?”

When Mara raised her shields this time, it was gentle and almost sly.Her sense became very subdued, and Luke got the impression she didn’t want to talk about it.“Nowhere you should ever want to go,” she said, like it pained her.

Luke sighed.If she didn’t want to talk, he wasn’t going to push her.At least about where she received her training.“I would love to pick your brain about certain concepts.My training was rather...sporadic and informal.My masters both died suddenly, and then the other person who offered to train me...”Luke let himself trail off, lost in his own thoughts of Vader.His father.No one could ever know, at least until Leia told Ben.Luke may not agree with keeping his nephew in the dark about his grandfather, but he had to respect Leia’s wishes.“Well,” he finally continued, raising his right hand.

“Vader,” Mara said.

Had she read his thoughts?

“I’m not reading your mind,” she added, and it was true; Luke’s shields had not been breached.Her Force sense was staying very deliberately away from his.“I just know a psychopath’s work when I see it.”

Nervous, because where would she have seen Vader in action except deep within the Empire, Luke asked, “You knew him?”

She shrugged.“I met him once or twice.He didn’t like me.”

Mara had met his father.

Luke was almost afraid to ask, but he felt that he had no choice.“What was he like?”

There was a brief flare of anguish from her before it was yanked away from him and the space around Mara was filled with cool indifference.“Losing a hand,” she said slowly, “is a kinder punishment than he usually doled out.”

“How did you know him?”

She was clearly uncomfortable, but Luke _had to know_.Her demeanor changed instantly and she snapped, “It’s none of your damn business.”Mara tilted her head back against the wall and squeezed her eyes shut.

He couldn’t argue with her.If she had asked about his relationship with Vader, he would not want to talk about it.Resigned to not receiving any more answers tonight, Luke rubbed his hands on his thighs.“So what’s the plan now that we’ve made it off Tatooine?”

Mara’s face relaxed, but she kept her eyes closed.“No clue.What are _your_ plans?”

Luke knew she was lying, but didn’t press.“I need to get in touch with my sister once we revert, and I—look, Mara,” he said firmly, “I know you don’t want to talk about it, but I need to know what we’re dealing with, _who_ we’re dealing with.You need to level with me, and I swear I’ll do everything I can to help you.”

She was obviously peeved, but he could see that she knew he was right.“I work for Talon Karrde,” she told him cautiously, and he couldn’t help but interrupt her.

“The smuggler?” Her sigh sounded more like a growl to him, but she let him continue.“I heard he took over a lot of Jabba’s operation.”

Mara waved a hand dismissively.“I wasn’t around for that.Karrde and his crew were going to Tatooine to meet up with Calrissian because of some job that only Karrde knew about.On our way to your dustball planet, we were pulled out of hyperspace early, right into an Imperial trap.I don’t know who or what they were looking for, but Karrde sent me in the Headhunter to get out of the Interdictor’s shadow and continue on to Tatooine without him.I never heard from Karrde, so I’m assuming he and the others were taken by the Imperials.

“Just before I made the jump to lightspeed,” she continued, “an Imperial Star Destroyer reverted in the area.It was the _Chimaera_.”

The way she was looking at him made Luke think that he should know something about that Star Destroyer, but other than those that frequently plagued Rogue Squadron during the war, he knew very little.

Mara must have realized that he knew nothing of that ship, because she said, “There was one Grand Admiral that only the High Court and elite ranks of the military really knew about.Well, I suppose those on his ship, too.Did you ever hear about the Empire’s work at Lothal?”Luke shook his head, then brushed his hair out of his eyes.“I figured not.This Grand Admiral—Thrawn, he was called—worked with the planet’s governor to develop a new TIE variant and crush the—admittedly effective—rebel cell on Lothal.There was a rumor that the Lothal cell had two Jedi.”

Two Jedi?Ben and Yoda had made it seem that no one survived the Purge, and Luke couldn’t find any evidence that Ahsoka Tano existed past the first few years of the Emperor’s reign.“How could there be more Jedi?Surely I would have known—”

“There were quite a few Jedi who were not killed at the end of the Republic,” Mara said.“Most of them were found and killed by the few that became the Inquisitorius.”

“What’s that?” asked Luke.

Mara closed her eyes and took a deep breath.“There were a dozen or so Jedi that avoided detection when the Emperor first initiated Order Sixty-Six, and eventually agreed to be spared and serve the Emperor as his Inquisitors.Their main goal was to hunt down any remaining Jedi or any Force-sensitive children, and bring them to Palpatine.Several of the Inquisitors were killed by the Jedi on Lothal and his apprentice.”

Luke tried to wrap his head around all of that, pressing his fingers to his temples.How could she possibly know all of this?Unless...Afraid of the answer, but compelled to ask, Luke said, “Were you one of these Inquisitors?”

She said, “No,” and Luke felt a part of himself relax.

“That person today, at the spaceport,” Luke began, but Mara cut him off with a shake of her head, and the gold in her hair caught the light.

“I don’t know who that was,” she said truthfully.

They sat in silence for a few moments.“You’re a good pilot,” he said, scratching the back of his neck.He needed a haircut.

Mara simply nodded.“You’re a good shot.”

“The Force helps.”

She looked at him carefully, her narrowed green eyes penetrating his own, but not in a necessarily mean way.“Is that how you made that shot at the first Death Star?With the Force?”

Luke nodded.“I had only even known about the Force for a couple of days, and Ben—my first master—had recently been killed by Vader, but I could hear his voice, telling me to trust the Force.”It felt like yesterday and a million years ago at the same time, but Luke would never forget the feeling of the first time he used the Force.“Ever since then,” he continued, “I trust the Force’s guidance.It took me to Bespin, against Master Yoda’s wishes.It told me that there was still good in my father.It’s what led me to Tatooine.

“Mara,” he said cautiously, “where did you learn to use the Force?”

She wouldn’t look at him, staring instead at the mug of caf in her palms.Suddenly, she rose to her feet and said, “I’m going to bed,” then stalked out of the galley.

He heard the _whoosh_ of a door close, and sighed.They were heading nowhere in particular yet, just in the direction of Coruscant, but Luke could tell it was going to be a long journey.

When the rinsed mugs had been deposited in the washer, Luke walked back to his own room.Artoo was plugged into a port on the wall.He did his regular evening routine, even meditated for a few minutes.Today had been draining.

“Goodnight, Artoo,” Luke said, crawling into his bunk and yanking the covers over his head.Sleep claimed him quickly, but it was restless; he was plagued by dreams of Tatooine, of a woman’s hand in his.

* * *

Talon Karrde was nothing like Gilad Pellaeon had imagined.The smuggler was not wearing tattered and patched up clothing; rather, he was dressed in what Pellaeon imagined was a fairly expensive suit.His face was well-groomed and his skin was clear.He was nothing like any smugglers Pellaeon had ever seen before.

The smuggler stood when Thrawn, Pellaeon, and a pair of stormtroopers stepped into the—admittedly large—cell.“Welcome, gentlemen,” Karrde said, giving each a nod in turn.“To what do I owe the pleasure?”His voice was smooth and lightly accented, though Pellaeon didn’t know from where.

Thrawn’s hands were clasped behind his back, a gesture that the captain had come to realize could mean any number of things, from curiosity to anxiety to fury.It seemed to be more of the former today.“I suppose you know why we have brought you here, Captain Karrde,” said Thrawn.

Karrde cocked his head.“Actually, no.I have no clue why I am here.”

Thrawn began to pace, more to make Karrde confident where he shouldn’t be.“I was sorely disappointed that, upon receiving your crew, a woman called Mara Jade was absent.”

If Karrde was surprised that the Grand Admiral mentioned Jade, he gave no indication.“I do have a crew member by that name,” he said, “but she was not onboard the _Wild Karrde_ when we were brought onboard the...”

“Imperial Star Destroyer _Chimaera_ ,” Pellaeon supplied.

The smuggler nodded his appreciation.“I do not know her current whereabouts.I can tell you that she was working a job on her own, but I don’t know the specifics of that job.”

Thrawn stopped pacing, and looked straight at Karrde.“How much, Captain, do you know of your employees’ pasts?”

He shrugged.“I’ve found over the years that if I can hire someone, that being will tell me whatever they feel they need to.The truth always seems to come out eventually.”

A tight grin pulled at Thrawn’s lips.“So you are unaware of Mara Jade’s past with the Empire.”

Karrde’s countenance turned serious, his jaw set.“Whatever Mara Jade has done in the past,” he said, “is in the past.”

“Even if she worked directly under the Emperor himself?” Thrawn asked, red eyes flashing.

Clearly Karrde was skilled at keeping cool under pressure, because Pellaeon saw only a slight twitch of a muscle in his cheek.“We all have done things we regret.What matters is what we are doing now.”

Thrawn nodded, and resumed his pacing.“Well, the Emperor’s Hand is overdue in returning to the Empire—”

“If you’ll excuse the interruption,” Karrde interjected, “I was under the impression that there was no Emperor, and what is an empire without its emperor?”

Those red eyes glinted, and Pellaeon repressed a shudder.The same thought had crossed his mind over the last few years.“Plans have been made to bring the galaxy back to its proper place with a new leader,” Thrawn explained.“And regaining the Emperor’s Hand is essential.She knew Emperor Palpatine better than anyone; he raised her from childhood to be his _personal_ servant.”

The slow way Thrawn said that... Pellaeon cringed.He probably didn’t mean it the way that sounded, was just saying that to make Karrde uncomfortable... It worked.However, Karrde only shrugged.“She’s a good employee,” he said.“I have no problem with anyone’s personal ethics so long as they are a good employee.”

“So you don’t know where she is?”Thrawn’s voice was cold, chilling.

The smuggler sighed, shoulders caving just a bit.Pellaeon couldn’t tell if that was natural or calculated.There were few times when the Grand Admiral was speaking to— _manipulating_ —someone, that he thought could give it right back.“I sent her in one of my Z-95 Headhunters to rendezvous with a client on the planet Tatooine.I know nothing more than that.”

Thrawn smiled, sending a shiver down Pellaeon’s back.“Thank you, Captain.That will be an excellent starting place.”They had already left the system, having dropped off that terrible Darth Vader wannabe, but obviously Karrde didn’t need to know that.Though somehow, Pellaeon suspected they were being sent on a wild bantha chase; Karrde would never give information away for free.

The Grand Admiral stepped from the cell, and Pellaeon moved to follow.Just as he turned into the corridor, he glanced back at the smuggler.Karrde was leaning back in his chair, and didn’t look concerned at all.

* * *

A wolf howled somewhere behind the young man who used to be known as Ezra Bridger.He looked over his shoulder, searching for a Loth-wolf, but there was nothing.He was alone.

The ground was soft below his knees, the sand shifting around his black robes.Lothal had not had a climate like this desert planet, and the past ten years out in the black had accustomed him to the cold.“Master,” he said aloud, closing his eyes against the brightness of the suns.“Master, I have failed you.I was unable to acquire your Hand.”

_That is alright, my boy.She is crafty, especially with the help of that_ Jedi _.There will be more opportunities._

He exhaled a breath of relief, thinking back to the things he’d seen his master do to those that disappointed him.

_However, I do need you to follow them.They will be returning to Coruscant, to the Jedi’s family.Beat them there.Do not disappoint me._

“I won’t, Master,” he promised, rising to his feet, sand rippling from his robes to the ground below.Out of the corner of his eye, he saw movement.When he turned his head, he started.There was a Loth-wolf, standing on a dune a hundred meters away, staring at him.“You’re dead,” he hissed at the wolf, and it disappeared.Another sigh of relief; it had been a mirage.

Brushing the sand from his sleeves, he walked back towards civilization.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I’m basing Karrde’s accent on the _Heir to the Empire_ audiobook.
> 
> Obviously, with all of the Ezra Bridger rumors flying around regarding _The Mandalorian_ and _Ahsoka_ shows, I felt the need to start posting this fic before it was completed. 
> 
> Descriptions of the _Lady Luck_ are based on the Wookiepedia article. Soooo...yeah. Any and all inconsistencies are my own.


	7. Chapter Six

Mara Jade was surprisingly easy to talk to.She hardly spoke, and when she did it was usually full of anger and malice, but occasionally Luke’s ramblings drew out a response.

“It’s better than waiting tables,” she said in response to Luke’s question about smuggling.

“You were a waitress?” he asked, elbows on the galley table.

She merely hummed in response without looking up from her datapad.That was another thing Luke noticed: Mara was rarely without one of her many tablets.“Bussed tables, delivered wrong orders, the whole thing.”

Luke grinned. Even if she told him every day that she was still going to kill him, this was the most interesting thing he’d done since serving in the Alliance.Spending time with her almost made Luke forget about the Jedi altogether.

“Do you play sabacc?”

She looked up at him sharply.“Do I what?”

Slowly, he repeated, “Do you play sabacc?A friend of mine once told me that every good smuggler plays sabacc.”

A feral grin spread across her face.“I only play if there’s stripping involved.”

Ah.Another fact Luke had only recently learned about Mara Jade: if she wasn’t threatening to kill him, she was trying to make him uncomfortable.

It usually worked.

Luke felt his face flush and struggled to think of a way to make _her_ uncomfortable.So far, he was coming up blank.

Of course, Mara took his silence as an invitation to tease him further.She gently set the datapad on the table and slid her hands out to the far edges, a hungry look in her eye.Luke jumped as he felt her bare foot brush against his calf, and she chuckled lightly.

Something pulled at Luke to make her make that sound again.

Her toes creeped up his shin to meet his knee, then quickly switched to his right leg, sliding along his inner thigh.Luke quickly grabbed her foot before she could get any closer, a little afraid himself of what she might find.

“You’ve made your point,” he said softly, his tone as dry as he could make it.

Mara tilted her head at him.“I’m only getting started, Jedi.”

Jedi.Right.

Luke reached out to the Force for calmness, ignoring her bright presence.Once his heart rate had settled, Luke opened his eyes to an empty galley.He hadn’t even noticed her removing her foot from his grasp.

And if Luke was being honest with himself, he was a little disappointed.

“Sorry Skywalker,” she said, her voice coming from right beside his ear—he jumped—“won’t lose your virginity tonight.”

He felt her back away towards the corridor, and—for once truly self-conscious—stammered, “I—I’m not...”

She laughed all the way to the cockpit.

* * *

Truly bothered, Mara rubbed the back of her neck and shivered.The cold floors of the ship were harsh on her bare feet, but it helped to ground her.

Mara didn’t like how she couldn’t seem to figure out who she was when she was around Skywalker.When they were bantering back and forth, she always seemed to go too far.She felt like she was acting out of character for herself.But who was she, really?She had worn so many masks, had adopted so many personas...Mara didn’t know anymore.

Skywalker was too easy to mess with.His small-town farmboy history combined with his Jedi celibacy made him fun to tease, and she needed the entertainment on this excruciatingly long journey back to the one place she swore she’d never return to; it was no secret that Skywalker and his family had taken up residence in what Mara had always known as the Imperial Palace.The center of the galaxy, the heart of the Empire, was now being occupied by traitors and terrorists.

Mara had no delusions that Skywalker had never had relations with anyone before—he had been a _pilot_ for Force’s sake—but the way he had blushed when she first began changing clothes the day before was too tempting not to repeat.And as much as she hated him, she could not help but say that—objectively—he was attractive when he was embarrassed.Or, well, in general.

She might as well enjoy the time leading up to killing him.She was starting to think that killing him might not be as pleasant as she had expected.

On the bridge, Mara opened the datapad she used to look at the data chip Calrissian had given her.She had no idea what to make of any of it: the images, the texts, the fact that a group claiming to be the Imperial Remnant was slowly making its way through the Outer Rim.A Force user with a red-bladed lightsaber.

It had been years since Mara lost her own lightsaber, but she still felt the loss as keenly as if it were yesterday.

Her master had spoken of a Rule of Two, but insisted it didn’t apply to her because she was not his apprentice.She was his servant, his personal assassin, his Hand.Vader was the apprentice, the one that Palpatine actually trained.Mara had been a student only, her own Force abilities limited without her master.

If there was a supposed user of the Dark Side out there, then there would have to be another, right?If so, which was the master and which the apprentice?

Then again, the Inquisitors had also used red-bladed lightsabers.All had been reported dead before the destruction of the first Death Star, but perhaps Vader had begun another Inquisitorious without the Emperor’s knowledge.He had successfully hidden his plans to overthrow the Emperor, after all. 

Something in Mara’s gut told her that this was no Inquisitor.

She pulled up Calrissian’s data file.The object Mara was tasked with finding and protecting was an ancient dagger.There was hardly any information on the weapon, other than secondhand accounts of a report given by Jedis Obi-Wan Kenobi and Anakin Skywalker.

“Skywalker,” Mara murmured to herself, wondering if this Jedi of the Old Order and the Jedi down the hall were related.

“Yeah?” a smooth voice said from behind her.

Mara jumped, right hand reaching for her blaster out of habit before stopping herself.“Damn it, Skywalker, I could have shot you,” she growled.

“I thought you were planning on doing that anyway,” he quipped lightheartedly.How could someone be so annoyingly positive all the time, even when faced with a woman who hated him more than anything?Anger burrowed deeper in Mara’s chest.“You’re the one who said my name.”

“Were you planning on telling me you were there, or were you just going to read over my shoulder all night?” Mara’s eyes narrowed as he stood there, gaping.

“I thought you knew I was behind you!” Skywalker insisted.“Why else would you try to get my attention?”

“I wasn’t trying to get your attention,” she hissed. “I don’t even know why I was thinking aloud.”Honestly, Mara was more upset with herself, that she was so engrossed in her thoughts that the Jedi was able to sneak up on her.That had been happening far too often lately.Danger sense or not, Force or not, she was a spy and assassin first and foremost; this should not be happening.She had been trained better than this.

She returned her attention to the datapad that had clattered to the floor, and picked it up.Skywalker.

“You aren’t related to an Anakin Skywalker, are you?” she asked, staring at the screen.When she looked up at him a moment later, his eyes were fixed on hers—but had lost their usual calm.

“That’s my father,” he answered, extending his hand toward the datapad.

“Your father?”She gingerly put the device in his hand, wondering if this was all going to backfire when he realized what she hadn’t told him—that they, if he actually agreed to help her, would be searching for an object with ties to the Dark Side.

He ran his finger up the screen, scrolling through the little information she had.“He...”Skywalker paused, almost hesitant to speak for once.“He died, before I was born.At least that was what I was told.Later, I learned that he survived the Purge.He’s dead now, though.And Obi-Wan...” Another pause, as he scrolled further through the documents.“I knew him as Old Ben Kenobi; he was my first master.”

“He was killed by Darth Vader,” Mara said.

Skywalker looked up at her.“Yes.But that’s not exactly common knowledge.”

“I haven’t been completely truthful with you, Skywalker.”

She expected to see anger and condemnation, but was instead faced with patience and understanding.“Nor I, you.”He handed the datapad back to her.“Mind if I sit?”

When Mara shook her head, Skywalker sat down in the co-pilot’s seat, holding a mug out to her—presumably the reason he came in the first place.She raised an eyebrow.

“Lando introduced this to me,” he said by way of explanation.“It’s called hot chocolate.It’s good.”

Mara rolled her eyes.“I know what hot chocolate is, Skywalker.Not all of us grew up on a rock in the boonies of the galaxy.”By his sigh, Mara knew that she had struck a nerve.“Sorry,” she muttered.She needed to be nicer if he was going to help her, she told herself, again feeling guilty.

“Do you want to go first, or should I?” he asked.

Mara took a deep breath.“I was not an Inquisitor,” she said slowly, staring down into the steaming mug between her palms.“But I was trained to use the Force.I was known as the Emperor’s Hand.I traveled throughout the galaxy, carrying out the Emperor’s will, doing his work, helping the Empire.I had the unique gift of being able to hear his voice from anywhere in the Empire, regardless of distance.He could speak to me, and I could speak to him.I had purpose and meaning, and I made a difference, and now—” She broke off, finally meeting Skywalker’s eyes.They were full of emotions that Mara could not feel—had never felt—for herself.“I don’t want your _pity_ ,” she barked.“I have no regrets for what I was, the things I’ve done.”

“But that’s why you want me dead,” Skywalker worked out.“You think I destroyed your entire world.”

“You _did_ destroy my entire world.Everything I ever had is gone because of you.”Mara exhaled, closing her eyes for a moment.“You killed the Emperor and I feel that pain in my chest every day, I see the whole scene every night, the way you and Vader joined up against him and took him down, the way—”

_YOU WILL KILL LUKE SKYWALKER._

Her voice escaped her, the pain rising in her chest.

“That’s not how it happened.”Skywalker’s voice was gentle.Mara looked at him.The lights in the cockpit were off, so he was illuminated by the small glow of the icons on the instrument panels and the stars out the viewport, the corridor light shining through the open doorway and illuminating him from behind.He radiated, both physically and in the Force.Mara was reminded of the nightmare she had of Jabba’s Palace.

“I saw it,” she insisted.She had always been able to connect with her master through the Force, it had _broken_ her when he was killed.She was still struggling to pick up the pieces.

Skywalker shook his head.“That’s not how it happened,” he repeated.“Emperor Palpatine—Darth Sidious—was somehow shooting lightning from his hands.I couldn’t stop him, I couldn’t fight, I couldn’t do anything but _beg_ for my father to help me.”He stopped.“Well, I guess it would make more sense if I explain things first.

“I was always told that my father worked on a spice freighter, and while I knew he was an honest businessman, I imagined that he was a pirate or something exciting.But then I met Ben, and he told me that my father was a Jedi named Anakin Skywalker.I had never heard of the Jedi or the Force, though I was told it was very strong in my family.Things started to make sense, things I’d never thought twice of.Shooting womp rats with more accuracy than anyone else, being more daring when racing through the canyons than anyone else, just feeling like I didn’t...belong.

“Anyway,” he continued, “Ben told me about my father and it changed everything.There had always been this hope in the back of my mind that Uncle Owen was wrong about my father being dead, that he was really stuck on Kessel getting spice or a million other things kids think are exciting.That he was alive.But Ben told me that my father had been killed by Darth Vader, and over the next few days I got more of the story; a young Jedi turned to the Dark Side and turned on his brothers and sisters in the Jedi Order, slaughtering them.”

Mara watched his fingers flex against the mug in his own hands.He was staring at nothing, eyes just gazing down at the floor.

“And suddenly I’m leaving the only place I’ve ever known, flying off to rescue a princess with a real smuggler team on a real smuggling ship, and Ben is teaching me to be a Jedi.I wanted to be like my father, wanted to be the best pilot and fighter ever, but I had no clue how to access the Force or what it meant to be a Jedi.

“Then Ben died right in front of me, killed by Darth Vader himself, and I was back at square one.All I had was a lightsaber I could barely turn on without singeing something, and a story in my head of a Hero of the Republic.You know what happens next,” he said, meeting her eyes.“We went to Yavin and I joined the Alliance and fly into my first mission immediately.My childhood best friend was killed right in front of me, and I’m being chased by TIEs and no one can make that impossible shot.

“I heard Ben telling me to trust the Force, I don’t know how he did it, but I listened and let the Force flow through me, and somehow I started the chain reaction that destroyed the Death Star.And that was that.

“Then three years pass, and we’re on this terrible ice planet, and I see Ben’s ghost, telling me to go to the Dagobah system.That’s where I met my second teacher, Master Yoda. He didn’t want to teach me at all, and for the weeks I was there, it was brutal, everything was brutal, the training, the food, the mind games.Master Yoda and Ben said there was too much of my father in me.

“I have visions of Han and Leia and Chewie being tortured, so I ignore what they tell me and go flying off to Cloud City on Bespin, and right into a confrontation with Darth Vader.Long story short, I’m somehow still alive and clinging onto a support beam or something—I don’t even remember—in the worst pain I’ve ever felt because he just sliced off my hand and my lightsaber was gone.There was no way I was going to get out of there alive.I had failed my friends, just like Ben and Yoda said I would.

“Vader was telling me to join him, that we could rule the galaxy together.I stupidly said that he killed my father, and he—” Skywalker’s voice was oddly calm at this point.“—said that _he_ was my father.”

Mara’s stomach lurched.That was why he had such a weird fascination with Vader and what he was like.Vader had tortured his own son, cut off his own son’s hand, captured his own son and took him before the Emperor—but that was what Vader had been commanded.He was to capture Luke Skywalker, and Mara was to kill him.Whichever came first.

She could find no words, nothing that would make the situation better or worse.

“I didn’t want to believe him,” Skywalker said finally.“But it was true.I suppose Ben was right, that from a ‘certain point of view’ Vader _had_ killed my father, but it was still a lie, and it still hurt.It was a little less than a year later that we were getting ready to take out the second Death Star, and I was going down to Endor’s moon to help take out the shield generator with Leia and Han and the others.But Vader was out there, and if I could sense his presence, I knew he could sense mine.

“So I surrendered to him.I had accepted that he was my father, and I could feel there was more to him than this terrible monster, that there was good in him.Vader didn’t do as I expected, but turned me in to the Emperor, offering me up as some sort of sacrifice or something, I don’t know.They wanted me to turn to the Dark Side but I knew that I wouldn’t, I couldn’t, because my friends were counting on me.

“I foolishly tried to battle the Emperor, and he started shooting this lightning at me.”Mara grimaced and looked away, having seen first hand what that sort of punishment could do to somebody.“I’d never been in so much pain, and all I could do was beg for my father to help me.I don’t know how I got through to him, but he turned on the Emperor and took the brunt of the attack for me.

“Vader—my father—killed the Emperor,” Skywalker concluded.“I could not have brought myself to do it; to kill out of hatred would make me no better than them.My father was still good deep inside, I was right about that.I knew—”

With these words, Mara had had enough.“You’re wrong,” she interrupted, feeling a pain in her chest that she couldn’t identify.“There was nothing good about Darth Vader, and you may not have killed him yourself, but the Emperor’s death is still on your hands, Skywalker.”

He just looked at her with that damn pity in his eyes.“I disagree,” he said.“There was some good left in Vader, he became Anakin Skywalker once again before he died, and he became one with the Force.”

Mara laughed sharply.“No.There is no way in hell I believe that Darth Vader ever turned to the light and saw the error of his ways.He was a monster, and I don’t care if he was your father.I hated him and he hated me.You knew him for all of five minutes, Skywalker,” she snapped, anger spreading throughout her body, tingling from her fingertips to her toes.“I knew him for my whole life, and he only gave a shavit about one person: our master.It didn’t matter what the command was, or who was in his way, he did as the Emperor commanded.We all did.”

Skywalker watched her with a look of serenity and patience on his face, and Mara wanted nothing more than to wipe it off with her fist.Angry tears pricked at her eyes and she forcefully willed them away.He had no idea what Vader was like; he was trying to make her forget about wanting to kill him.

_YOU WILL KILL LUKE SKYWALKER._

His face turned concerned and Mara knew she had unconsciously flinched at the scream in her mind.She threw up her walls hastily and felt a mean sort of glee when Skywalker winced.

“Why do you do that?” he asked gently, taking the mug from her shaking hands—how long had they been shaking?—and setting it on the floor.Mara barely noticed his thumb rubbing along the backs of her hands, but yanked them away as soon as she did.

“I don’t like people in my head, Skywalker.”A headache had developed at some point during their conversation; she just now took stock of the dull ache.“Keep your slimy feelers to yourself.”

He actually looked regretful.“I didn’t mean to upset you.You were being honest with me, and I just thought—”He stopped himself, and she could practically see the gears in his head turning as he changed tactics.“You said you were called the Emperor’s Hand, and you could hear Palpatine from anywhere, right?”Mara nodded.“What does that mean?”

“I was his personal assassin, deliverer of justice, whatever you want to call it,” Mara said, and she couldn’t help but feel an old pride swell within her.“He sent me throughout the galaxy to take care of traitors and spies, to tear down insurgencies before they started.I made myself fit any profile, could have any cover I needed, and I never failed.”Again, Mara paused.“That’s not true.I failed once.”

Skywalker looked at her carefully, and, as if everything was starting to make sense, said, “You were at Jabba’s when we rescued Han.You were sent to kill me.”

Mara nodded once.“The stupid slug wouldn’t let me on his barge to go to your execution.I had missed my chance inside the palace, and I knew the price of failure, so I couldn’t kriff it up.I had one opportunity left, and he kept it from me.”

“It would have worked,” Skywalker said with absolute certainty.She wondered how he knew that, how he was so confident in her abilities when even she wasn’t.

She shrugged.“Doesn’t matter.I was en route back to Imperial Center when he was killed, and...” Mara hesitated; she hated admitting weakness.“It ripped me apart.He was such a prominent part of my life and of my very being that my body couldn’t take it.I blacked out for three standard days, two of which were spent in a medcenter in Imperial Center, one for low-level bureaucrats and aides.I had always been seen to by a personal physician but I had no identity, that was what made me so effective as Hand.I didn’t technically exist.So I had no records, no money, no identification.I appealed to every Moff and Admiral and down the ranks but no one claimed me.Many had only heard rumors of my existence as Hand, thought me just one of the Emperor’s dancers.

“One minute, I had everything,” she said.Maybe she should have felt something, but all Mara felt was tired and numb.“The next, I had nothing.So I built myself a life, piece by piece.”

Skywalker was just watching her, motionless.Finally, he said, “I’m sorry.I never thought of the consequences of the people close to the Emperor who weren’t charged with war crimes, who were just doing what they’d been told.”

“Oh, no,” Mara told him, voice gaining volume and grit as she spoke.“I loved my job, I loved my life.The Emperor gave me a gift so that I could serve him, so that I could deliver peace and justice throughout the galaxy in his name.I have _no regrets_ , and you will never take anything away from me again, Luke Skywalker.”

“Mara,” he said softly, “I promise, I will never intentionally do anything to harm you.”

“Promises, promises,” she muttered, swiveling in her chair and unlocking the datapad.“I’m still going to kill you,” she said as she pulled up Calrissian’s documents.Mara momentarily wondered if she should tell him of her struggles with the Force, but she didn’t want to appear weaker in his eyes than she already did.“I just need your help first.”She pulled up the image of the dagger.“We need to find this.”

Skywalker looked at the image.“I don’t recognize any of the writing on the hilt,” he said.

“Neither do I,” Mara agreed, “but the images are very low quality.I don’t even know where to begin, but—”

“The best place to start will be the Jedi Temple on Coruscant.”

Once again, Mara’s stomach dropped.She would _never_ go back there.“There’s nothing left of it,” she said cooly, instead pulling up a map of the galaxy.

Before she could launch into explaining her (admittedly weak) plan, Skywalker was ready to argue.“I’ve been working through it over the last few years.And now I have Ben’s journals, and you might have any Imperial override codes to get into the Emperor’s personal files.I think we can do this.”

“Why does it matter to Calrissian so much?” she wondered aloud.“What could he want with this?”

Skywalker’s lips flattened in a pinched line.“I have no idea.”

* * *

Pellaeon stood silently in the corner of the Grand Admiral’s ready room off the bridge, trying to keep as low a profile as possible.The Grand Admiral himself was standing straight before the holoprojector, the very image of calm and collected.If Pellaeon could be half as good a leader under pressure as Thrawn, he would consider himself a lucky man indeed.

The projector hummed static for a second before a blue image appeared.The hooded figure flickered for a moment as the connection settled, and Thrawn said, “How is your mission proceeding, Lord Vihaan?”

_“Good, Grand Admiral,”_ the hologram responded.Pellaeon wondered how young the Sith Lord was, given that his voice sounded quite youthful compared to most battle-hardened men. _“I have arrived on Coruscant as our master commanded, to collect the Emperor’s Hand and bring her back into the fold.”_

Thrawn sighed.“It is essential that you remove her from the presence of the Jedi before you attempt to take her.He is not to be underestimated.”

Pellaeon could feel the tension radiating from Darth Vihaan, despite the light years of distance between their present location in the Outer Rim and Coruscant. _“I am well aware of that, Grand Admiral.”_ A chill ran down the captain’s spine.The malice in that sentence was palpable.He could see tension build in Thrawn’s shoulders.

There was a chime, and a third image flickered into view: another hooded figure, this one hunched over and exuding control. _“My greatest servants,”_ the new figure said with a chilly grin.Thrawn bowed, and Darth Vihaan kneeled. _“How is my Empire faring?”_

“We are still working to retake Imperial Center, Your Majesty,” Thrawn said, inclining his head slightly.“Lord Vihaan has arrived on Coruscant and we are in position to intercept him when he returns with your Hand.”

_“Good,”_ the ghostly Emperor said. _“She has many things to answer for.Lord Vihaan, be sure to destroy her reputation with the Jedi before you return.We need him distracted by the second phase of our plan while she is put in position.”_

“Yes, my Lord,” Thrawn said, and Vihaan did the same.“How far, Your Majesty, should we go to reacquire the Emperor’s Hand?”

_“What do you mean, Grand Admiral Thrawn?”_

He cleared his throat, and Pellaeon grimaced.“I know you want her alive, my Lord, but if the only way to collect her is to use force...”

_“What state should she be in when we deliver her to you, Master?”_ finished Vihaan.

_“I want her unharmed,”_ the Emperor said coldly. _“Use whatever means you find necessary, but I want her whole and unblemished when I receive her.She has much to learn.”_

Pellaeon had no idea who the Emperor’s Hand was—he had heard rumors over the years of his service to the Empire, but, like everyone else, had assumed they were fictions meant to scare the officers and Moffs into submission—but he feared what she was going to be facing.If she was as loyal to the Emperor as Thrawn had implied, shouldn’t it be easy to reclaim her?The Empire had been lost until Thrawn put it back together, there was nowhere for her to return to until now.

Lost in his musings, Pellaeon realized that both holofigures were gone, and Thrawn had pulled up a collection of images from the HoloNet of various Imperial functions over the years.There was no obvious correlation between the images; each was carefully posed and edited to convey a specific idea.

“These are holos from events that occurred during the last five years of the Empire,” Thrawn said, turning his head to look at Pellaeon.Those glowing, red eyes beckoned him over.“Tell me what you see, Captain.”

Pellaeon studied the images for several long moments, but could find nothing.“I’m sorry, sir,” he said, “but I don’t know what I’m looking for.”

Thrawn smiled.“She’s very good at her job,” he said, lifting a blue hand to point at a figure in the background of the first holo.It was a young woman, a child really, mixed in with a crowd of other girls in dance costumes.Then Thrawn pointed to the second photo, where the same, slightly older woman was seated at a dinner table next to a man Pellaeon recognized as Grand Moff Tarkin.Her demeanor seemed entirely different in this holo.In the first, she blended into the pack, just another one of the Emperor’s court dancers; in the second, she stood out as one of the Emperor’s many courtiers.

He looked at each of the other holos in turn, and somewhere in each was the woman, looking very different in every appearance.“Who is she?”

“I met her twice,” Thrawn said, “both in the same evening.The first, she was introduced to me as some countess, but later, at the secret ceremony naming me one of the Emperor’s Grand Admirals, she was an entirely different person.Shortly after, I was assigned to the Outer Rim and she stayed in the Core, doing clandestine work for the Emperor.She was the Emperor’s personal assassin.

“When the Empire fell five years ago, she went unaccounted for, which wasn’t surprising considering the fact that she had no legal identity.Apparently Isard had her in custody for a while, but she escaped.One would assume that because of her close relationship with the Emperor, she would have known of his plans in case Lord Vader betrayed him, but apparently she did not.”

“So what’s she doing now?”

Thrawn looked at Pellaeon again, and those red eyes dropped a rock in his stomach.“She’s currently with Luke Skywalker, on some errand for her current employer, Talon Karrde.”

“Karrde said he didn’t know what she was doing,” Pellaeon reminded him.

“Karrde was lying,” Thrawn said, waving a hand to disperse the holos.The lights in the room returned to full brightness.“We may not be as thorough interrogators as Lord Vader was said to be, but I believe our methods are effective.”The alien straightened and, in a firm voice, ordered, “Have Talon Karrde brought here in one hour, and make sure dinner is hearty.”

So that was how the interrogation was going to go: another conversation that Pellaeon was sure he would not be able to follow.Thrawn was a genius, and he would never do it intentionally, but he couldn’t help but make everyone around him feel stupid.“Yes, sir,” Pellaeon said with a brisk salute.

He may feel stupid at times— _most_ times—but he would not trade his billet for anything else in the galaxy.Thrawn made everyone feel that way, too.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The dig on pilots is meant in jest. My husband is a pilot and is nothing like the stereotype. :)


	8. Chapter Seven

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the delay; I have no excuse.
> 
> I really love this chapter though, and I hope you enjoy it too.

_Her hair glints gold in the sunlight, a hand raised to block the sun from her eyes.Luke recognizes her perch: an oft-overlooked balcony over the main gardens of the Imperial Palace.She reaches down for a large blaster used by snipers, but Luke knows she wouldn’t need the scope for accuracy.Her target is much closer than that._

_He hears the cheers below and sees her grimace.Her eyes squeeze shut and Luke has a strange insight into her mind, into her thoughts, hears—_

YOU WILL KILL LUKE SKYWALKER.

_He had forgotten how terrible that voice felt._

_She raises the heavy blaster and aims it for the dais, tracking her target’s location beside the bride and groom.Takes a deep breath, and—_

_She is younger here.A magenta lightsaber is in her grip, and he can feel her terror and excitement as she sees her opponents: three large beings clad in black, wielding double bladed, red lightsabers.He watches as they approach, stalking towards her and laughing.They take only a few steps before she attacks, leaps at them, her blade swinging wildly._

_The fight is short, and Luke is impressed at her skill.She can’t be more than fifteen here, if not younger, and she’s holding her own against these three beings twice her size.One of them gets a little too close for comfort and he feels her intent before she does it: throws a hand out, intending to push the opponent back with the Force.It doesn’t work._

_But then all three opponents scatter, and she is thrown to the ground, blade skittering a few meters away.She grasps at her throat, eyes squeezed shut, gasping for air, when he hears that damned respirator that haunts his own nightmares._

_Vader._

_“You are weak, Hand,” his father’s deep voice says, and Luke shivers at the malice in his tone.“You are an embarrassment to the Emperor.”_

_“Please, Lord Vader,” she chokes, face turning a darker red.“Please.”_

_He releases her, and she gasps for air.She tries to get up, but fails, falls to her hands and knees, retching.Her humility and self-loathing radiate through the Force, and Luke wishes he could do something.It is strange to see her with his father, and he knows she was not lying when she said she hated him._

_But he still can’t bring himself to do the same._

_Finally, she catches her breath, and rises to her feet, determination written on her face.The Inquisitors—that must be who they are, since Vader is here and they are obviously training—approach, but there are four of them this time.She stretches an arm out, and he can feel her calling on the Force to retrieve her lightsaber, but the weapon does nothing._

_Luke feels Vader’s fury before he sees the attack: a backhanded motion that throws her across the room and into a wall.For a long moment, she doesn’t move, and Luke wonders if his father has killed her._

_But then she groans.Rises to her feet.Reaches her arm out again, and this time, the saber flies right into her palm.There is fury on her face, and she turns to the Inquisitors, purple blade activated—_

_It’s cold in space.She’s alone in the cockpit of a Lambda-class shuttle, idly scrolling through a datapad’s contents, eyes not focusing on anything.Her sense is anxious, like she knows something is happening but not what.There is a surge in the Force, and he hears—_

YOU WILL KILL LUKE SKYWALKER.

_Pain.Terrible, scraping, awful pain._

_She screams.Her hands clutch her head, claw at her hair.She screams and screams and screams, louder and louder, until Luke—_

* * *

Somebody was screaming, jerking Luke awake.His hand reached for his lightsaber, and the blue glow it emitted illuminated the room, but he was alone.Where...

The screaming continued, and Luke felt the tumultuous emotions swirling around in the Force.Felt them as if they were his own emotions.

Mara.

Dropping his extinguished lightsaber, Luke threw back the covers and ran out of the room.The cabin Mara had chosen was diagonal from his.By the time he reached her door, she was no longer screaming.Luke almost returned to his bunk, but there was something else: quiet, but violent sobbing.

Wondering if this was the stupid decision that was going to get him killed, Luke tried to open the door, but it was locked.He knocked on the door a few times, but he had no illusions that that would work.The little he knew of Mara Jade told him that if she was upset, he was the last person she would want to know.

But then he heard her speaking, the words indistinguishable.Her sense in the Force grew more unstable, more erratic.She could hurt herself and not even know it.

Knowing this was the stupid decision that was going to get him killed, Luke reached out to the Force and opened the door, which, thankfully, wasn’t blocked on the other side.

Mara was curled up into a tiny ball, fingers pulling on her hair.She was shaking and Luke knew she was crying, but he still couldn’t understand her words.

“Mara?” he called, hoping she would hear him and wake.“Mara, it’s Luke.”He approached her bunk, hesitant to reach out to physically wake her because she would probably kill him out of surprise.But then he realized—he didn’t have to touch her to wake her.She could use the Force.

_Mara_ , he said, projecting his words to her presence in the Force.Her normally strong shields were still present, but were jagged, as if they were barely holding together.Luke stayed deliberately away from her boundaries.The last thing he wanted to do was invade her privacy more than he already was. _Mara_ , he repeated. _Mara, you’re having a bad dream._

He felt a tentative brush against his own mind, like a hand reaching out, but then it was violently retracted, and Mara’s eyes snapped open.In a blink, she was upright and her blaster was aimed at his face.“What the hell do you think you’re doing, Skywalker?” she growled, scrambling to pull the blankets all the way up to her throat with one hand.

“Hey,” he said, empty hands raised, “I was just trying to help.You were screaming and it...Well, it seemed like you needed help.”

“I don’t need help,” she snapped, lowering the blaster slightly.

“A friend then.”

Mara scoffed.“I don’t have _friends_.”

Luke shook his head.He was too damn tired for this.“Whatever,” he huffed, lowering his arms.“You were having a nightmare and mine—mine get pretty crazy, so I thought... Never mind.Goodnight, Mara.”

He turned and was halfway out the door when she murmured, “I’m sorry for waking you.”

Looking back at her, Luke offered a smile.“Don’t worry about it,” he said.“And, hey, I’m always here if you need to talk, or something.”

“Or something,” she repeated drily, like she wasn’t fully comprehending his words, or maybe just didn’t believe them.

“Yeah,” he said.“Anyway.”And though it was just a single word, Luke knew it was the end of the conversation.He gave her a tight smile and a nod, and left the room.

* * *

When Skywalker walked into the galley, Mara barely looked up from staring off into space.She could feel his eyes on her, and a chill ran down her spine.He strode to the caf machine and poured himself a mug.Mara’s fingers were wrapped around her own, the warm stoneware against her palms barely keeping her together.

He sat down on the other side of the table.“You okay this morning?”

She wasn’t.After Skywalker had awoken her from her nightmare, Mara had not been able to go back to sleep.Was not _willing_ to go back to sleep.She had a small amount of stim pills in her bag, and while she didn’t want to use them unless it was an emergency, that dream had left her drained enough to need the energy, and the caf clearly wasn’t working.

“Fine,” she mumbled, raising the cooling mug to her lips.The caf was lukewarm; she shivered as it slid down her throat.She hadn’t had the nightmares in a while; it was enough to unsettle her, loathe as she was to admit it.“I didn’t—” she trailed off, unsure of what to say.His eyes were still on her.She cleared her throat.“I didn’t mean to wake you, and— _thanks_.Thanks for waking me up.”

When she looked at his face, his countenance was earnest.“I don’t mind, Mara.”The calm expression dropped a tad, and Mara could sense that he minded at least a little bit.“I think that I shared your nightmare, though.”

“What?”The word was out of her mouth before she realized she had spoken.

Was that even possible?Mara was not used to being around Force users, and she didn’t think that sort of thing just happened casually.

Skywalker’s eyes met hers, blue to green, and Mara felt something in her stomach begin to churn.The temperature in the room seemed to rise a few degrees, and Mara’s eyes flicked to the thermostat in the corner.Nothing had changed, but she hadn’t really expected it to.

He seemed to fight an internal battle to bring himself to speak, but Skywalker eventually said, “So when my sister and Han got married a few years ago, there was an assassination attempt on them at the end of the ceremony.Was,” he stopped, and Mara’s chest grew tight with dread as he collected his words.“Was that you?”

Mara Jade had no regrets about her the things she did as the Emperor’s Hand, and she barely remembered that day.Only a few months after the death of her master, she was barely lucid at the time, hellbent on destroying her master’s murderer.But this feeling that rose up to her throat, the heat that burned within her... was that embarrassment?She had never felt this way, had never failed so miserably at something.On Tatooine, she had failed her mission to kill Skywalker, but at the Organa Solo wedding, Mara had failed her master’s last command—the last thing he thought of as he was dying.

The words stuck in her throat, but he deserved an answer, as much as she hated him.“I,” she choked out, “was aiming for you.”

His shock reverberated through the Force, and Mara felt another flush of embarrassment.This was ridiculous; she was one of the most-feared beings in the galaxy, it was ridiculous for _Mara Jade_ to be embarrassed.

“You.”She cleared her throat, then continued, “You dreamt that?”

At least Skywalker had the decency to look a little ashamed.“I didn’t do it on purpose,” he said in self-defense.“This has never happened to me before.Um, so was all of that real, then?All of that happened to you?”

Mara’s stomach turned again.“You’re talking about Vader,” she said, and was given a shallow nod in return.

“There was still good in him, at the end.”

Her eyes narrowed in response to the anger she felt.“I don’t care what you say, Skywalker,” she hissed, “Darth Vader was evil.”

“He saved my life from the Emperor,” he retorted.

Mara dropped her head back and laughed humorlessly.“You were his son, Skywalker.His own child, not his competition for the Emperor’s attention.He never liked me, because I was the Emperor’s response to his Inquisitor project.Even his Inquisitors faced his fury every day.That was a normal training session.”She finished, “Don’t try to tell me he was _good_.”

Skywalker sighed.“I’m sorry, Mara.I didn’t know.”

Lies.Unable to take any more of his ignorant words, Mara shook her head and rose from the table.“Yes, you did.You just don’t care.”

As she walked away from him and toward the cockpit, Mara contemplated turning around and vaping him then and there.If he was going to be so arrogant as to insist that the monster he’d just seen beat her was good, then she had no use for him. 

Anger had been Mara’s constant companion for the past five years.Anger at Luke Skywalker, anger at the Rebellion-turned-New Republic, anger at the universe.She had lost _everything_ when the Emperor was killed, and now meager Force abilities were returning to humiliate her.Beneath it all, Mara knew that killing Skywalker wouldn’t bring back the Emperor or her place in the Empire, but seeing the light leave his blue eyes would make everything better, at least for a while.

That’s what she needed.To stare him straight in the face and fire her blaster at him.Watch him stumble back, clutching the burn in his chest.Fall to the ground.Stare blankly at her, his eyes losing their luster.

And all of that made Mara feel—

Sick.

No.She wanted him dead, she wanted... Mara slumped down in the pilot’s seat and stared unseeingly at the mottled sky of hyperspace.

She was grateful when her head began to pound, and she heard:

_YOU WILL KILL LUKE SKYWALKER_.

* * *

She was seriously unstable.

Luke rubbed the back of his neck with his right hand.It needed to be recalibrated.With a sigh, Luke rose and walked to the engine room.Han and Lando were both obsessed with keeping their ships running perfectly—and, honestly, Luke supposed he was, too—and therefore had any tool that could ever possibly be needed.It didn’t take long to find what he needed.

Once he was seated at the table in the galley once again, tools spread out around him, Luke let his body go through the steps by rote and turned his mind to Mara Jade.

She was _seriously_ unstable.Why would Lando ask her to find this dagger?What did Lando want with it?Clearly she was Force-sensitive, but she never seemed to use the Force, at least not that he’d noticed.He would ask her about it.

Six years had passed, and Luke still was not used to seeing an open compartment filled with circuitry where his wrist had been.The skin between the prosthetic and what was left of his arm was seamless and scar-free.The right was slightly less sensitive, but it was stronger than the left.

He could understand why Mara hated Darth Vader.In the silence of hyperspace, alone with his thoughts, Luke remembered that his sister had not yet accepted the identity of their father.Not completely.He had personally tortured Leia on the Death Star, and Luke could remember hearing his sister’s screams nearly every night on the _Millennium Falcon_.

Luke closed up the panel and watched as the borders disappeared into the synthskin.Maybe Mara just needed to stew for a while, to be left to herself.He could feel her shame and anxiety since he woke up, peppered with anger.Now, he wished she would stifle the waves of ire rolling through the ship from the cockpit.

That wasn’t fair.Her shields were incredibly strong (he had the headaches to prove it), which meant she must be incredibly distracted.He should apologize.Later.

He spent the next few hours meditating in his bunk.He relived her dreams from the night before, with a few of his own mixed in.When Luke arose, he was exhausted.Meditation usually calmed him, put him at peace, but this was tiring and chaotic.

Mara was projecting again.

Building up his shields further, Luke settled back in to meditate again, determined this time to find peace, or at least some direction.They still had no real heading, other than to search the Jedi Temple—but he had searched through it before and could not remember seeing a dagger.

Though if Mara Jade was the Emperor’s Hand, maybe she knew of some hiding places he couldn’t find in the past.

At least she didn’t seem too intent on killing him.

* * *

Eventually, Skywalker made his way back into the cockpit and Mara groaned internally.Why couldn’t he just leave her alone?

“I’m sorry, Mara,” he said, taking the co-pilot’s seat to her right.“Growing up, all I had was my aunt and uncle.I would’ve given anything to have a family.It took me so long to accept that Darth Vader was my father, that as soon as I felt that conflict within him, all I wanted was that relationship.Sometimes I forget that I’m the only one who saw him redeemed at the end.”

Mara ran a hand through her hair, bunching some through her fingers, fist against her forehead.Time to lay all of her cards on the table.“You know, Skywalker,” she said slowly, “you aren’t the only one who had a shitty childhood.But at least you _had_ a childhood.”She refused to look at him, let her words sink in to his thick head.

“What do you—”

“Doesn’t matter,” she interrupted, finally turning her head to glare at him.“You need to learn that the galaxy does not revolve around you or your Skywalker family drama.The rest of us may not have your extremely powerful abilities or political acumen or _popularity_ , but we’re still a part of it.The galaxy is a big place, Skywalker, and you are just as small a piece as the rest of us.It’s arrogant to think otherwise.”

“You seem to think yourself important, too.”

She rolled her eyes.“I know my place, Skywalker.I know that once I was important, that I made a difference, that I made the Empire a better place, a more just place.But now,” Mara said, “I’m a just another person trying to survive like everyone else.”

Skywalker hesitantly reached over to cover her hand with his own, but she pulled it to her chest before he could fully make contact.He probably wanted to soothe her anger with his mystical Jedi powers.“You would make a very good Jedi, Mara.”

That was the last thing she expected him to say.The skin on his face looked blue, a reflection from the lights of hyperspace, but still his eyes stood out to her.Mara felt like she would recognize them anywhere now.Could she really extinguish the light behind those blue, blue eyes?

_YOU WILL KILL LUKE SKYWALKER._

Yes.Yes, she could.She would.She had to.

“That is the biggest load of bantha-shit I’ve ever heard,” she scoffed, moving her gaze back out the viewport.

“Why do you sell yourself short, Mara?” Skywalker asked.“The Force is strong within you; can’t you feel it?”Her eyes suddenly burned and blurred.“I’m going to reestablish the Jedi Order.I know you hate the Jedi, but I think part of that was Palpatine’s—”

“The Force was a gift from the Emperor,” Mara said, sick of hearing his words.Her headache was back, a throbbing in the forefront of her head.“I only had those powers because of him.”

Skywalker’s look was one of confusion.“You can’t just give someone Force-sensitivity, Mara.I can feel it in you.You just need to try to—”

Enough.“You think I haven’t _tried_ , Skywalker?” she all but shouted.“When the Emperor was killed, everything I could do was gone.But now I hear his voice in my head, and I’m having these—these _nightmare-memories_ , and I would like nothing more than for it to all _disappear_.I’m going to kill you, and then all of this will be over.I may no longer be the Emperor’s Hand, but I—”

_YOU WILL KILL LUKE SKYWALKER_.

Mara couldn’t keep a moan from escaping her throat as she pressed the heels of her hands to her forehead.The headache was getting worse, the command was getting louder, growing stronger.It would be so easy to just kill him right now.She would no longer be such a failure.

“Mara,” Skywalker said softly.A warm hand settled on her shoulder, and Mara felt some of the tension leave.Somewhere deep within her, she never wanted his touch to leave.“Let me help you.”

“How?” she croaked, dropping her hands to her lap.Her head hung, the headache reaching the back of her skull.

He squeezed her shoulder gently, and Mara’s stomach flipped for reasons she could not explain.“Let me teach you what I know about the Force, and you can tell me what you know.Together, we can—”

“I don’t want your help,” Mara told him, but for once there was no venom behind her words.She didn’t have the energy for that anymore.“I want you _dead_.”

At least Skywalker had the good sense to shut up.

“When you were fighting those Tusken Raiders,” he said—of course, she spoke too soon, figuratively speaking—“I felt you from far away, I just didn’t know what I was feeling.I’ve never sensed anybody that bright before, not even Leia.Well, maybe _bright_ isn’t the best word to describe your Force-sense.I guess you just have a sort of resonance that...I can’t describe it,” he finished with a laugh.

It was interesting that he spoke of her Force-presence as bright, as that was her first impression of him all those years ago at Jabba’s Palace.She hadn’t had that dream in a long time, her memories of that day, that moment when he saw her.Mara had the strange urge to...to touch him, somehow.His hand on her shoulder wasn’t enough.She needed her fingers—

_YOU WILL KILL LUKE SKYWALKER_.

Mara was able to keep her reaction to just a wince this time, but it wasn’t enough to escape Skywalker’s notice.

“Do you still hear him?”

How was she supposed to answer that?She had admitted that she could hear the Emperor from anywhere in the universe, had told him that she heard his last command over and over again.

She needed Skywalker to just leave her alone.

“Of course I do,” she hissed.

“Mara, can I...”

“What?” she barked when he trailed off, clearly deliberating whether or not he should be truthful.“Spit it out, Skywalker.”

His lips twisted, and Mara had to drag her eyes away.What was _wrong_ with her?“I’d like to try and...there’s really no good way to say it, but _go in_ to your mind.If I can hear the words as you do, maybe—”

“No.”There was no way in _hell_ that he was going into her head.As good as Skywalker claimed to be, Mara knew the kind of power there was in entering someone else’s head.It was addicting; it would give him a rush of adrenaline that he couldn’t give up.

And she would never let anyone have control over her ever again.

“No,” Mara repeated, firm.Her hands clenched into fists in her lap.“I am never going to have anyone in my head ever again.Least of all _you_.”

A sad look settled on his face, and Mara’s stomach flipped again.“Alright,” he conceded.“I’m sorry for suggesting it.”

Mara said nothing, turning back fully to the control panel before her.She looked at the reversion timer.“We’re going to be reverting to realspace in four and a half hours.I’m sure you can entertain yourself.I’m going to get some sleep,” she said, rising to her feet and pushing past Skywalker.

She felt his eyes on her back as she walked down the hall, felt his gaze heavy on her until she was in her room, door shut behind her.


	9. Chapter Eight

Their arrival on Coruscant was uneventful.Luke had insisted, to Han and Leia’s chagrin, that he and Mara needed to go straight to the Jedi temple.Han had given Mara a funny look, and even Leia seemed suspicious, but they let the two go without too much argument.

Mara was clearly uncomfortable in the temple ruins.A scowl had crossed her face when they touched down at the space port, and hadn’t left since.She spoke only a few words to him, and said nothing at all to Han and Leia.Her Force sense was tight, her shields incredibly firm, not that he was trying to pry.

“I think we should start in what’s left of the old Jedi Archives,” Luke said, walking in that direction.

She wasn’t following him, instead looking down another corridor.“You won’t find anything in there,” she called.“Palpatine destroyed the records.Anything he may have saved will be in his private library.”

He stopped and looked back at her.“We can’t access that,” he said.“Before we retook Coruscant, those remaining loyal to the Emperor destroyed everything that was left.That’s why I’ve been struggling to find any information about the Jedi.Even Palpatine’s records are gone.”

Mara shook her head as he approached her.“Only the Emperor and a select few knew where his real records were.Himself, Darth Vader, the Grand Admirals, Grand Moffs, and—and myself.That’s where I went after...”

“After you shot up Han and Leia’s wedding,” Luke offered.She nodded, lips pursed.“I always wondered where you went that I couldn’t sense you.Lead the way.”

Mara hesitated.“There’s...another stop I’d like to make as well.This one is—personal.”

Luke’s imagination ran wild with thoughts of what she could want.There was a strong possibility it was something precious she had left behind, or a favorite weapon, or even something as trivial as a beloved blanket.Though Luke doubted Mara Jade ever prized anything material that highly.

Even Luke kept his most prized possession on his person at all times: his lightsaber.

“That’s fine,” he said simply.

The path she walked him down seemed to be in the entirely wrong direction of where Luke expected Palpatine’s personal library to be.He imagined that anything Palpatine held in high regard would be kept close at hand, easily accessible for him.But maybe that was what he wanted people to think.That would explain how the Imperial sympathizers were able to destroy everything so easily: it was all in one place.

Despite her brisk pace, Luke was able to enjoy the walk through the familiar ruins with new eyes.He had a lead this time; there would be no guesswork since Mara knew what she was doing.

This place was full of ghosts.Even as he was thinking of the ease with which the rest of his research would—

Mara staggered.

Luke nearly ran into her, but was able to stop himself just in time.She recovered quickly, then continued on even faster than before.Luke stayed in place, motionless.He closed his eyes, and reached out with the Force.There was something here.

“Skywalker,” she hissed, the unvoiced consonants piercing the air.He didn’t know why she felt the need to whisper.Ignoring her, Luke flexed his fingers, reaching for something he couldn’t identify.There was a pain in this spot he had never noticed.

_“Luke.”_ It was the same voice he had heard before—before ever going to Tatooine.But it was in his mind; Mara could not hear. _“Tread lightly.There is Darkness here.”_

The presence was gone, and Luke tried not to feel disappointed.Whatever chill he had felt before had been replaced with the same warmth he always felt here in the Temple, despite the terrible things that occurred at the end of the Clone Wars.Things his father had done.

They reached the end of the corridor, where they could go left or right.A larger than life painting of the Emperor as he had looked as Chancellor hung on the wall before them.He seemed to be staring down at them, judging them, despite the graffiti that had been added in the days after his demise.Mara pointed to the left, unfazed by the image of her former master.“Go down that hall until the end.There will be some stairs on your right.Go all the way up, as high as you can go.His library is up there.You have to use the Force to enter,” she said.“I’ll meet you there as soon as I can.”

“Taking care of your errand?” he asked, glancing down the corridor.He could see stop-and-go traffic outside the huge windows. 

“It’s none of your business,” said Mara coldly, “but yes.”Without another word, she took off.Her footsteps were silent as she walked away; he watched until she had turned a corner.

“All the way up,” Luke murmured to himself, starting down the left end of the hallway.It was ridiculous for him to be feeling apprehensive over being in the Jedi Temple alone.He had been here without anyone else dozens of times over the years, but maybe after Mara’s encounter with the darkness a few moments ago and the knowledge that he was heading into the dragon’s lair...

Luke wouldn’t mind being done with this place.Every step he took felt like he was going further and further away from the light, into a shadow.He had never been down this way before, had not known there was anything here.Just like Mara said, a nondescript staircase spiraled up on his right.

He started to climb, higher and higher, and Luke wondered how the Emperor did this regularly if he was as old and decrepit as he had appeared.Ten stories, and Luke had reached a landing with a door opposite him.It looked like a normal door, but he knew better than to think that, even though he could sense no dark presence behind it.Mara said he had to use the Force to enter.

“Here we go,” Luke said, closing his eyes and reaching out to the Force.He could sense the door and the space behind it, but could feel no mechanism that would open it.Luke cleared his mind and tried again.Still nothing.He couldn’t even get it to budge.

_“Use the Force, Luke,”_ said the voice.He startled at the mental push, the nudge towards the Dark. _“Palpatine used the Dark Side of the Force exclusively.How else would you enter his personal library?”_

Luke couldn’t believe what he was hearing.“Use the Dark Side?” he asked aloud, knowing he would get no answer in return.“I can’t do that.Jedi can’t do that.”The more he said it, the more Luke knew there was no other way.One time wouldn’t set him down a dangerous path.It was for the good of the Jedi as a whole.

Again, Luke closed his eyes and reached out with the Force.This time, he went further into himself, allowed the frustration he had been feeling to escape the box he had forced it in.The loneliness he felt when he saw Leia and her family.The fear he felt when he thought about restarting the Jedi Order by himself.The anger he thought he’d been rid of: at his father, at Uncle Owen, at Yoda and Ben for lying to him.Underneath it all, for a brief second, he thought of Mara’s past and how she had been treated.For the anger she still held close.For the passion he knew she had, if he could get her to open up to him.The knowledge that he could _make_ her open up to him, and a stirring deep within him...

The door opened.

* * *

Mara was surprised to see that her old codes still worked.No one left after the Emperor’s death would have known them to change them, but it surprised her all the same.The door to her quarters opened, and Mara stepped into her past.

She hadn’t realized how weary she was until she was over the threshold, and felt so old.The last time she had been here, she was twenty-one and still the Emperor’s Hand.Her master had just given her the assignment to kill Skywalker at Jabba’s Palace on Tatooine, and she was packing, not knowing she would never return.

Until now.

It was still on the table next to her bed: a solid, pyramid-shaped object.Her master had given it to her just before she left for Tatooine, with the promise of an explanation upon her return.Obviously, that promise hadn’t been kept.

Mara reached out, and picked the pyramid up.It was heavier than she remembered, but maybe that was just her anticipation.Something about it felt _wrong_.Maybe this was a dream, or a nightmare.Shaking off the feeling, Mara turned to her wardrobe.If she remembered correctly—and she did, of course she did—a small bag was on a shelf near the top.Pulling it down, Mara slung it over her shoulder so that it hung by her hip, and gingerly placed the pyramid inside.

She took a long look around the room.Maybe she should be a little more sentimental about her youth.There was nothing important in her life.There never had been.On Myrkr, Mara had a few items of clothing that she liked more than others, but nothing that couldn’t be replaced.When she left the _Wild Karrde_ on Karrde’s orders, Mara hadn’t felt any urge to take anything with her.

It was stupid, she knew, but Mara suddenly wished she had _something_ of her childhood.Or maybe to have simply _had_ a childhood.Jealousy of Skywalker and Organa Solo flared up inside her.They hadn’t been raised to be a killer.

Mara shook off the feelings, carefully replacing them with cold neutrality.

And just in time; Mara’s danger sense flashed.

Her holdout was immediately in her palm, aimed at the hooded figure standing in the doorway.“Who the hell are you?” _And how did you sneak up on me_ , she didn’t add.Somehow, Mara knew that this was the person from the spaceport on Tatooine.

The figure—man?—was taller than her, but not by much.Other than that, she could discern no details about him.“I’m here to return you to our master, Mara Jade,” he said, pushing his hood back.He was young, probably not too much older than her, with dark hair and yellow eyes.

The room’s temperature seemed to drop. _Our master,_ he had said.“You may not have heard,” Mara said, forcing confidence into her voice, “but he died five years ago.And besides—I have no master.”

His laugh was higher than she expected.“You’ll soon learn how wrong you are.”There was a pause, then the _snap-hiss_ of a red-bladed lightsaber igniting.“Come with me, Mara Jade.”

_Like hell._ “I’m afraid my schedule isn’t really that accommodating right now,” she said.“If you give me your comm code, I’m sure I can get back to you.And while we’re getting to know each other, mind giving me your name?”Instinct drove her hand to fire, but she had barely twitched her finger before the blaster was flying away from her. 

“I am Darth Vihaan,” he said, his hand stretching towards her.

Mara couldn’t breathe.

It had been such a long time since someone had done this to her, she’d forgotten how it felt.Though she knew in the back of her mind that it was useless, Mara’s fingers scratched at her throat, prying at invisible hands.Everything started to spin, and Mara desperately reached out with the Force and tried to stop him.

But nothing happened.She couldn’t grab him, couldn’t touch the Force at all.

Spots appeared before her eyes, her head felt light, and—

Oxygen flooded her lungs, and Mara was thrown to the floor, gasping for air.The rug—a trophy from a mission on Corellia—was rough against her palms, and it was all Mara could do to stay somewhat upright.She had gotten soft; he should never have been able to sneak up on her in the first place.

The moment of reprieve was just that, a moment, before the pressure was back around her throat.His grip tightened further.She knew from experience at both ends of this maneuver that it was only going to be seconds before she lost consciousness.

Mara stretched for the Force again, but it still remained out of her reach.There was one thing she could do: _Skywalker_ , she pleaded mentally.He had spoken into her mind before, when she was having nightmares.Maybe she could return the action. _Skywalker, please._

Her last thought before she blacked out was how much she hated herself.

* * *

_Skywalker_ , a voice said in his head.“Mara?” Luke turned around, looking down the stairs.The door—barely opened—closed behind him, but he was alone. _Skywalker, please._ Mara was in trouble.He reached out for her, starting down the steps, but her Force sense was flickering in and out as if she were losing consciousness.

Then she was gone.

Luke ran, following the echo of her presence throughout the old Jedi Temple, down and down until everything was dark and dusty.She was close.He passed through a doorway, eyes catching a flash of red-gold on the carpet.“Mara,” he said, kneeling down and feeling for her pulse.She was breathing, her pulse was steady, but her Force sense was still weak.

_Snap-hiss._

Mara’s fair skin reflected a red glow.Slowly, Luke rose to his feet and took his lightsaber in hand.“I don’t take kindly to my friends being attacked,” he said, turning to look at the being behind him.

“I didn’t know you were friends with the Emperor’s Hand,” the Sith said.“You don’t have to worry about her; she’ll be back with her master soon enough.”

“Palpatine’s dead,” Luke stated plainly.“Who are you?”

“I am Darth Vihaan,” the man replied, “and I am Darth Vader’s successor.”

“Funny,” said Luke, igniting his own green-white blade.“I thought that title would’ve been reserved for his son.”

“The son who let him die?” laughed Vihaan, swinging his lightsaber around lazily in a figure eight.“The Emperor has given up on you.You’re just a thorn in his side now, one that will be taken care of eventually.I am sure I’ll be sent after you soon enough, or—” He gestured down to Mara, and Luke could _feel_ his smirk. “—she will.”

Luke shifted his grip on his own saber.“That’s assuming she goes with you.”

Again, Vihaan laughed.He couldn’t have been much older than Luke, judging by his face and size.“She’ll be coming with me, willingly or otherwise.Those are my orders.”

“That’s assuming you can get past me,” said Luke, looking down at Mara.She seemed to be beginning to stir.He subtly brushed her with his mind, fully aware that Vihaan could probably tell what he was doing.“Let us go,” Luke continued, “and we’ll let you leave unhindered.You can take what you want, but leave the Palace and this planet.”

The other man smiled.“That’s a nice offer, but I think I’ll pass.”

And swung at Luke with a two-handed grip.

Luke raised his blade to block, moving to the side to avoid stepping on Mara.Sliding his blade along the red light, Luke forced Vihaan back, until he again had to block a blow.Their lightsabers met with a violent _sizzle_ , and Luke staggered back, feeling the heat on his face.

A shot buzzed past Luke’s right ear, only to be deflected by the red blade.“Little close,” Luke said to Mara, who was sitting up with her arm extended, blaster aimed at Vihaan.

“Then duck,” she spat.

The Force blared a warning at him, and Luke dropped.Another bolt just missed his head, and Vihaan caught it on his saber.He, however, missed the heavy chair that Luke threw at him with the Force.

Vihaan fell to the ground, his Force sense quiet.

Luke deactivated his saber and spun around.Without stopping, he grabbed Mara’s hand and yanked her towards the door.“Come on!”

Once they had rounded the corner, Mara let go of his hand and sprinted alongside him.“Please tell me you got what we came for,” she said.

“Not exactly,” Luke replied.As far as he could tell, Vihaan was still out cold.He didn’t want to take any chances.“Think we can spare a few more minutes to try again?”

She didn’t slow, but Mara glanced behind her.“He’s unconscious, right?”

Luke nodded, but realizing that she couldn’t see him, said, “Yeah.”

“I suppose we can go up there.I’ll cover you if he returns.”

Something told Luke that he wouldn’t.

* * *

When Darth Vihaan woke, he felt the weight of his failure as it sat heavy on his shoulders.There was a dense pressure in the back of his skull that he knew was not from the chair.His master wanted to speak.

_Ezra_ , said a voice in his mind.Startled, yellow eyes flashed around the room, searching for that familiar voice.A voice belonging to a man who had died long ago. _Return to the Light, Ezra,_ Kanan said from somewhere beyond. _It isn’t too late._

“Yes, it is,” he argued, feeling a whine in his chest.“And it’s your fault.You died and left me alone.”

_Fear has always been your weakness._

“Yeah, I know.But not anymore,” he said.“I’m done letting fear control me.”

_Then you have learned nothing._

* * *

Palpatine’s chambers were just as eerie as Mara remembered.Even when she was the Emperor’s Hand, his private rooms had seemed otherworldly.She hovered by the door, waiting for Vihaan to follow them up here.Every so often, Mara looked over to where Skywalker was pacing, studying every aspect of the room.Currently, there was a heavy tome in his hands.

Mara had never seen it before.Palpatine hid his treasures well, even from her.

Something about this whole thing felt wrong to Mara.When Skywalker had opened these doors, something in him changed.He had felt Dark for a moment, which terrified Mara more than she thought anything could.

How could someone so _light_ be so tainted?

There was a soft chime, and Skywalker set the book down on a fijisi wood credenza.He pulled out his comm and carried on a quiet conversation.Mara resumed looking down the stairs.

“Han’s here,” Skywalker said.Mara watched as he hesitantly closed the book and pushed it further over.When he met her inquisitive gaze, he added, “It doesn’t feel right to take that.”Giving it a final pat with his hand, Skywalker tossed her a smile and then headed towards her.Something in his posture had changed.Like he was more sure of himself, more self-aware.

He brushed past her and walked down the staircase without a look back.The second she was clear, the doors slammed shut behind her with a _thud_ that made her reflexively look over her shoulder.

_I’m never coming back here again,_ Mara promised herself—and this time, she meant it.

* * *

Dinner at the Solo’s Coruscant residence was a quiet affair.Mara knew it was because no one was certain what to make of her.She had followed the exploits of this group of beings for years, and knew that they did not routinely act so formal and proper.Utensils clinked against the plates before them as they ate.Mara shifted in her stiff seat.

The infant—Ben Solo—was practically throwing a fit with all of the giggling and food-tossing taking place.Solo was a patient enough father, wiping his son’s face periodically and making speeder noises as he aimed the spoon in the child’s mouth.This chaos was ignored by Organa Solo and Skywalker, who discussed the past week that they had been apart.Typical.

It was interesting, however, to realize that Leia Organa Solo—due to her being the sister of the Jedi Master Luke Skywalker—was the daughter of Darth Vader.

Mara spent dinner looking the twins over and contemplating their parenthood.It was far easier to believe that Organa Solo was the daughter of such a monster.No one was that commanding and serious without such a pedigree, even if she wasn’t raised by Vader.The Sith Lord was a huge, hulking beast and Organa Solo was a petite wisp of a woman, but their energy was the same.

“Are you finished with that?”

Jumping, Mara looked up to see Skywalker with his hand extended towards her plate.“Huh?” She glanced down and cleared her mind. Everyone was else was finished eating, whereas Mara had spent the last ten minutes or so pushing food around her plate and taking tiny bites.She supposed she wasn’t really hungry.“Oh.Sure.” She slid her fingers under the dish and handed it to Skywalker. 

Alone in the dining area, Mara looked around to study the holos of this family on the walls.Various snaps from throughout the last decade or so decorated the room, several of which were focused on the baby.She was drawn to one that focused on Skywalker, holding the newborn infant.There was... _something_ about the holo that Mara couldn’t name but intrigued her.

“Sorry if Leia’s cooking wasn’t palatable,” said a voice from behind her shoulder.

Again, Mara jumped.With a deep breath, she turned to meet Solo’s eyes.“No, I—”

His arms were crossed, closed off but not unkind.“We don’t cook much, but she tries to keep Alderaanian culture alive in her own way, especially now that we have Ben.”

Mara shook her head and turned back to the holos.“The food was fine.Good, I mean.I’m just not hungry.It’s been a long day.”

Solo’s eyes were narrowed when she looked back at him.

Unsettled, Mara tried again.“Thank you for your hospitality.”

He wasn’t distracted by the sentiment.“So Luke says that you’re gonna kill him, but he doesn’t seem to be too worried about it.”

_He should be._

_YOU WILL KILL LUKE SKYWALKER._

Mara frowned, irritation stabbing at her chest.“He ruined my life.I refuse to explain my motives to anyone, least of all you.”Her grimace deepened, and she looked away.“But I need his help.I’m trying to help my employer recover a lost item, and I think Skywalker is the only person who can help me.”

Solo leaned back against the table, eyes still narrowed and arms still crossed.“So he said.”They stood in silence for a long moment, and Mara was actually uncomfortable under his scrutiny.Why was he looking at her like that—like she was someone he had the right to inspect?“I don’t trust you.But if that idiot kid will turn his back to you and bring you into the home of his sister and her son, I guess I have to respect that.Just know that we’re watching you.”

As if she wanted to be here any more than they wanted her.“I’m just trying to do my job, so I can get paid, and go home.”

If that scenario ended with the death of Luke Skywalker, so be it.She could finally move on with her life.Not that she needed to say that to Solo of all people.

His mouth opened as if he were to add something, but then his wife’s voice called from the kitchen: “Han, will you go change the towels in the guest ‘fresher?”

Solo’s eyes remained set on Mara’s as he replied, “Yes, sweetheart.”Before moving, Solo studied her carefully.“You know, I used to say the same thing.Believed it, too.”He backed away three steps, then turned and left.She turned back to the images.

From the kitchen came the sounds of clanking dishes and running water, closing cabinets and infant giggles.Solo’s words played in her head on repeat.What could he mean by that?

There were eyes on her back.Skywalker.

“I think Han is going to take us in the _Falcon_ ,” he said, and Mara spun to face him.He looked relaxed here, in his sister’s home, wearing clothing that was nothing like his Jedi robes.Maybe it was the attire, maybe the atmosphere, or maybe Mara was finally losing her mind, but he seemed younger here.Happier.“I figured it was better if we leave the _Lady Luck_ here, since we don’t know how Lando is involved.”

Mara felt herself nod.“Can you trust him?”

Skywalker’s face contorted.“I thought he was one of my best friends.We all thought that he had...changed.Maybe we were wrong.”

She didn’t know what to say to that.Luckily, she wasn’t left waiting in silence for long; Skywalker swiftly changed the subject.

“Since we’re getting an early start, I thought it best if we just stay here tonight.My place isn’t far, but since the Falcon is here... You can take the guest bedroom.I’ll stay on the sofa,” he said, and Mara wanted to roll her eyes at his backwater chivalry.But it had been a long day, and she was tired of arguing.Instead, she simply nodded and rolled her shoulders; something in her neck popped. 

Skywalker led her through the vast apartment, tastefully decorated in classic Alderaanian style, each step further and further away from her expectations.Finally, they reached a closed door that Luke opened with a simple press of his palm.The room was plain and entirely different than the rest of the home.

It must have shown on her face, because Skywalker grinned and said, “Leia let Han decorate a couple of rooms.He thought he was going to have a choice, but he was given the guest room and ‘fresher.I guess Leia figured that their friends all had their own places nearby and wouldn’t need to stay here.”

The room was small and simple.Utilitarian. Entirely Mara’s style.

“And his version of decorating was not decorating at all?” she asked, crossing to the bed and sitting down, leaning over to unlace her boots.

“Ah, pretty much,” Skywalker said with a laugh, hand running over the back of his neck.“Anyway, the ‘fresher is through there,” he continued, gesturing to another closed door on the far wall.“If you need anything, I’m sure we can find it around here somewhere.Goodnight.”

He turned to leave, but a thought crossed Mara’s mind.“Skywalker,” she began, and the man paused to face her.“If Vihaan...”

“Don’t worry,” Skywalker said with a head shake.“No one can make it into this building.Not even a Sith Lord.And even if they did, they’d have to get past me.”He smiled and rested his hand on his lightsaber that still hung on his hip, even in civilian attire.

Mara nodded, and looked down.

When she raised her head again, he was gone.

* * *

Luke crossed back into the living room, smiled at the sight of Han making a bed on the sofa.“Spend some nights out on the couch?” he smirked, folding his arms across his chest.

Han turned and grinned.With a shrug, he answered, “You know me.I never know when to stop.”

“Like that time on Takodana when you were too busy flirting with that cantina owner to pay attention to Leia?”

A sour look crossed Han’s face, but Luke knew he wasn’t really upset.“Hey, that wasn’t my fault.I can’t help if smugglers like me more than princesses.Besides, Maz really had a thing for Chewie, not me.”

“Leia still got jealous.”

“Yeah, but that was back in my bachelor days,” Han pointed out.“It was only a year after you forced your way onto my ship, after all.”

Luke raised his eyebrows, amused.“So that’s how you remember it?”

Han nodded.“Though sometimes I wonder what that old wizard’s plan was.Obviously I got the cash up front, but then what was he gonna do when we got to Alderaan?Stick the bill with Leia?You obviously didn’t have the credits.”

The thought of Old Ben Kenobi made Luke smile.“I’m sure he had a plan.”

Han laughed and sat down, arms spread along the back of the couch, ankle resting on opposite knee.Luke wished he could feel that relaxed.Maybe when he figured out how to be a great Jedi Master, or solved the mystery that was Mara Jade.Or maybe he was destined to forever be yearning for something intangible.

“Ben’s finally asleep,” Leia said, entering the room with a sigh.She sat beside Han and rested her head on his shoulder, his hand dropped to rest on her, playing with the ends of her braid.“How have you been, Luke?You’ve been so hard to reach lately.”

Unsure of how to answer, Luke finally lowered himself onto an armchair and shrugged.“I started looking for those Jedi texts when Ben told me—”

“You saw Ben Kenobi?” Leia asked, and Luke was suddenly reminded of the first time they met, when she had interrupted him to ask about Old Ben.

A grin crossed his face, but was soured by the fact that no, he had not _seen_ Ben.Luke said as much, and added, “But he was there.I could feel his presence.It was Ben who showed me the holocron, and I had a vision.Long story short, I ended up on Tatooine and met Mara.”

Han frowned, forehead crinkling.“Kid,” he said, “I know you like to trust everybody, but she has literally told us that she wants to kill you.I don’t think you should be so careless around her.”

Luke scoffed.“I’m not being careless.I can sense her in the Force, and I don’t need to worry about her.”

“You sure?”Leia tilted her head, concern transforming her peaceful countenance.“She didn’t seem so friendly at dinner.”

“I wouldn’t say she’s _friendly_ ,” said Luke, picking at a loose thread on his sleeve.This tunic was one that reminded him of growing up on Tatooine. The light fabric was course but soft, too.Like Uncle Owen.“She’s, ah—prickly.”But he couldn’t start a new Order of Jedi without Jedi, and she was the first one he’d found.Even if she wouldn’t accept his offers to train her, and actively hated his guts.“Plus she’s on this mission for Lando, and—”

“Oh, yeah,” interrupted Han.“What did he say?I haven’t seen or heard from him since Ben was born.”

“Mara said her boss sent her to meet up with him on Tatooine before they were ambushed by the Imps,” Luke explained.“He took her Z-95 and let her borrow the _Lady Luck_.They were going to meet back up when the job was done.She’s got to find this dagger for whatever reason, and apparently can’t do it alone.Something about needing someone else who can use the Force.”

Han hummed.“That’s strange.I could’ve sworn Lando said he was gonna go out to Nkllon or wherever.He got involved in some mining business out there.”

“Plus why wouldn’t he go to _you_ for help?” Leia directed at Luke.“You’re one of his best friends.Why trust a stranger and not _you_?”

It was a good point, and Luke shrugged.“There’s something else,” he started, gaze shifting between his sister and her husband.“The guy we fought at the Palace, he’s some kind of Sith Lord.Like Vader.”Leia’s face remained carefully blank, but Han started looking around wildly.Before he could interject his opinion, Luke continued, “And he claims that the Emperor is back.”

“That’s impossible,” Leia snapped.

“You said Vader killed him.”

Luke nodded at Han, but then shook his head.“I mean, Vader threw him down a reactor shaft.And then the Death Star blew up not long after.I don’t know how he could have survived.And Mara... Mara felt his death.She, uh, worked for him.”

There was a reason he hadn’t brought this up with them yet.And looking at Han and Leia’s reactions, he wished he hadn’t.Luke raised his hands to calm them, saying, “You don’t need to worry about her.She was practically his slave, as far as I can tell.Brainwashed from childhood.Like Vader.”

Leia’s sense and physical demeanor turned cold, while Han still just seemed unsettled.“And you brought her into this house?” Leia said slowly, one eyebrow raised.“Where she could hurt our son?Your nephew?”

Again, Luke shook his head.“She’s harmless, Leia.If she’s going to hurt anyone, it’ll be me.She has nothing against your or your family.”

His sister crossed her arms.“You better be right, Luke.”

“Anyway,” Luke said, “that’s why we need to borrow the _Falcon_.She’s got to find this dagger because the Emperor—or at least this Darth Vihaan—wants it.That must mean it’s important.If he’s really back, then we need to find him.”

Han slapped his hands onto his knees.“Guess I need to pack.And make sure Chewie knows the plan.”

As he left the room, Leia stood and followed without another word to Luke.


	10. Chapter Nine

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I. Love. This. Chapter. So. Much.

As Han led Mara up the _Falcon_ ’s ramp, Leia pulled Luke aside.“Are you sure about this?” she asked, bouncing Ben on her hip.

Luke took his nephew’s tiny hand; the infant had a strong grip around his thumb.“What do you mean?” he responded, moving his eyes from the child to his sister.

“Can you trust her?”

Sighing, Luke nodded.“Despite what she says, I don’t think she’s really going to kill me.And I need Karrde’s contacts.If anyone has a trace on Ahsoka Tano, Karrde will find out.I can’t start training Ben until I know more about the Force, about being a Jedi.Helping Mara rescue Karrde is only fair.”He hesitated, wondering if he should tell his sister more.“I think I can help her.She’s able to use the Force.”

Leia’s eyes widened.“She’s a Jedi?”

Lips twisting, Luke shook his head.“No.But she’s not like Vader, either.I don’t really know what she is.I think the Force has brought us together for a reason.”

He could tell that his sister was skeptical, but she was skeptical about the Force in general.She was a realist, and trusted the power of her hands.She believed in the Force, and was able to use it when she wanted to, but Leia had never been entirely comfortable with it.Maybe that was why she wouldn’t let him train her. 

“How do you mean?” she asked.

“The Force led me to Tatooine,” Luke answered, rehashing his journey despite his having explained it earlier in the evening.“It took me into the middle of the desert, and sent me to Mara.Whenever I’m with her I feel...”

He stopped speaking, unsure of how to continue.There was no doubt in his mind that the Force wanted him to meet Mara, to help her and learn from her.But he genuinely liked her, even if she was unhinged sometimes and constantly threatened to kill him.

Luke realized he had been staring off at the _Falcon_ , and looked back to his sister.She had one eyebrow raised, and her mouth was pursed.“Don’t go falling in love with her, brother.”

Her words felt like cold water being dumped on his head.“I don’t know what you mean,” he said quickly.“That’s not what I meant at all.”

Leia was obviously amused.“You get attached easily, Luke,” she said.“You barely know this girl, and I know how being in cramped quarters with someone you have a connection with feels.How it can escalate.”

Grimacing, Luke looked towards the _Falcon_ again.“I really don’t want to hear about the beginning of your relationship with Han.”

His sister laughed, running her hand over Ben’s dark hair.“That’s not where I was going with that.”

“Yes, it was,” Luke disagreed, “and you know it.”

“Fine, fine,” Leia said, smiling at him.“Just don’t do anything stupid.”

Luke whined, “ _Hey_.”After kissing his sister on the cheek and his nephew on the forehead, Luke heaved his bag over his shoulder and walked towards the ramp of the ship that had been his home for a long time.

“Luke!” Leia called.

He turned.“Yeah?”

She smiled at him.“May the Force be with you!”

He couldn’t help but return her smile.

* * *

The day passed slowly.Solo and the Wookie stayed in the cockpit for the most part, and Skywalker spent his time meditating.Mara caught up on some news and messages, unable to really focus on anything.There were no messages from Karrde, nor the rest of his crew, which meant they were still being held on the _Chimaera_ , if not relocated elsewhere.

Or worse.

What was so important about this dagger that the Empire wanted it?And why had Calrissian been so intent on Mara getting ysalamiri to keep it safe?They were skipping that request, but would it be enough?

These questions, and the headache that was steadily growing worse since the day before, bothered Mara until she was distracted by the sounds and smells of a meal being prepared.She may not want to socialize with these people, but they had to discuss the mission.

She had been so distracted by this job and hating Skywalker that she had forgotten about Karrde.She needed to refocus and determine her priorities.

_YOU WILL KILL LUKE SKYWALKER._

Then there was that.

Rubbing her forehead, Mara went to the galley and wordlessly accepted the meal, sitting at the small table.The Wookie and Solo were bickering over something stupid, trying to get Skywalker to pick a side.

Something about yesterday was plucking at the back of her mind.Something about Skywalker.

She had to focus on Karrde, on the mission he had given her.Did he know something that he hadn’t passed on in that last conversation?

Then there was the bantha in the room: her master wasn’t dead.

Her master wasn’t dead.

What did she do with that information?She had to find him, to join him, but—was that what she wanted?

After five years of discovering herself, of experiencing independence, could she go back to a life of servitude?

But what kind of question was that?She owed the Emperor everything—everything she was, everything she had came from him.He was alive, not killed by Skywalker like she had dreamed.He was alive, and not concerned about her for five years.

Mara folded one leg beneath her, picking at the noodles in the carton on the table before her.She pushed a green vegetable off to the side, and swirled the spiced-smelling noodles around her fork.Skywalker sat down across from her, and asked, “How’s your head?”

Clearing her throat, Mara answered, “Fine, I guess.”She stretched her neck to the side, staring down at her food instead of at the man in front of her.The man who saved her life, when he could have ignored her cries for help, even after she threatened to kill him in nearly every conversation.

Had they spoken even once without her threatening him?

Mara tried to eat, but could stomach no more.She pushed away the carton, and stood.“Excuse me,” she said, and left the galley.

* * *

After Mara left, Luke conversed with Han and Chewie for a little while, trying to ignore the turmoil coming from the other side of the ship.Once he was finished eating his reheated Festian takeout, Luke sealed Mara’s carton of food and placed it in the conservator for later.She would be hungry eventually.

With a jaunty salute to his friends, Luke went in search of the Emperor’s Hand.

Mara was curled up in the corner of the cargo hold.Luke approached her warily, afraid to spook her into silence.She had seemed amenable to conversation before they took off, and with the ship in hyperspace, Luke was able to meditate.Now, after eating, Luke knew he needed to make sure she was okay.

“Cold?” he asked, offering her a blanket from his bunk.Mara said nothing, just closed her eyes and leaned her head back against the bulkhead.Without another word, Luke sat down next to her and unfolded the blanket, spreading it over their laps.Mara kept her silence, but curled her fingers around the edge of the thick, beige fabric and drew it up to her chin.

They sat for a long while, listening to the sounds of the ship: the hum of the engines, the circulation of the air, the distant murmurs between Han and Chewie in the galley.

Finally, Mara exhaled.“I felt him die.”Another long moment passed.“It was excruciating.The worst moment of my life.”She was silent for so long, Luke wondered if maybe she had fallen asleep; but then she spoke again.“And it was all for nothing.Everything I went through, everything I’ve built...it’s all been for _nothing_.”

Luke listened to her words, but didn’t know how to comfort her—or if she would even want to be comforted, especially by him.“It could’ve been a lie.Odds are he’s dead, Mara.That guy Vihaan is just a radical, dead set on emulating Palpatine.”

Mara shook her head minutely; her hair brushed his shoulder.“You don’t really believe that, Skywalker.You know just as well as I that this is the kind of shit that Palpatine would pull.”

Luke sighed.She was right, of course.“Well, then we’ll just have to find him.Or, uh, I will.I guess once we find Karrde, you’ll be off with him.”

When Mara spoke, her voice was distant, like she hadn’t really heard him.“He didn’t even include me in his plans.I was his _Hand_.I knew everything. _Everything_.Why wouldn’t he take me with him?Why didn’t I know where he was going?”

“I can’t answer that, Mara,” Luke said gently.“But you know that in what you thought were his last moments, he told you to kill me.Not instructions for you to find him.”

Mara’s eyes, brimming with tears, met his.“You’re just trying to convince me not to kill you.You’re trying to make me hate him.”

Again, Luke sighed.“Mara, I can’t tell you how to feel about something.I can’t make you hate him if you don’t already suspect that feeling within yourself.I can’t make you do anything.This is your battle.”Before he could change his mind, Luke took her hand.“I’ll help you, if you want me to.”

Lips pressed together firmly, Mara looked away.“I need you to teach me how to use the Force.I don’t want... I can’t think straight, hearing him in my head.”

Had she heard the Emperor’s last command in her mind again?She had been so adamant before about not wanting him in her head.What could have changed that so quickly but a continuous mental assault, accompanied by news that her former master could be alive?Alive, and only now looking for her—for whatever sick reason.

“Mara,” he said, “I will help you in whatever way I can.”

There was a hesitant brush against his mind.Luke closed his eyes, and reached out in response.Mara’s Force sense was light and wary, but still felt measured and cool.Her shields were still raised, but Luke could feel her more than he ever had before.She was soft, and—

Luke clamped down on his own thoughts, determined to not frighten her with his own feelings.

 _Let me help you, Mara,_ Luke told her, speaking directly into her mind.

She inhaled sharply, withdrawing her hand quickly.Her eyes met his, and her chest heaved.“I’ve only ever heard...”

“The Emperor?” Luke asked.She nodded. _I’m not too familiar with it, either.Just Ben and Yoda and my father, and occasionally Leia.And then you, in the Temple._ He stretched towards her, wrapped himself around her loosely.Luke felt her shiver, brushed her again.

“I don’t think I can—” Mara began, but was interrupted.

_YOU WILL KILL LUKE SKYWALKER._

Luke withdrew immediately, suddenly chilled.He jerked away, releasing any grasp he had on her both physically and mentally.“Is that what you hear all the time?”

Mara seemed more calm than she had ever since he walked in with the blanket.Not looking at him, she picked at the skin on the side of her index finger.“It’s gotten worse since I met you,” she said plainly, sounding almost bored.He might have believed it, if he couldn’t feel the fear radiating from her skin.

Luke forced himself to calm down, knowing that it wasn’t helping her.“May I try again? I won’t respond so, uh, roughly if it happens again.”

She nodded slowly, and closed her eyes.Luke reached out through the Force, and gingerly brushed up against her mind.Mara seemed to turn toward him, and Luke took that as permission to continue on.He approached the first barrier, which he helped peel back.

The inside of Mara Jade’s mind was a mess, full of scar tissue and empty spaces.

 _Did the Emperor do this?_ he asked, and felt Mara’s uncomfortable, but still affirmative, answer. _This is not what a healthy bond is supposed to look like._

“How would you know, Skywalker?” Mara asked aloud, her voice cutting through the ship’s hum.

 _Leia and I have a bond that developed on its own over time.I think it grew on the rudimentary training bond we were trying to figure out.But this..._ Luke didn’t want to frighten her, or anger her, by telling her how disturbing this all was.Her mangled mind was evidence of a lifetime of mental abuse.It was no wonder she was in pain when he died; Palpatine had embedded himself in every facet of Mara’s head, leaving gaping holes when he left.

He felt Mara shift and wince, but heard nothing.Luke sent a silent inquiry to her, and she responded, “You’re very bright.Like staring straight into a sun.”

 _Can you reach out and feel the ship?_ Mara tried, and Luke smiled at her clumsy fumbling.His amusement must have shown through inadvertently, as he felt a flash of frustration from her. _Sorry.Focus on the_ Falcon _.What do you sense?_

Luke opened his eyes and watched as Mara shakily stretched herself into the Force.Her eyebrows were pressed together, fingertips digging into her thighs over the blanket.Knowing his thoughts were guarded, Luke couldn’t help but notice how attractive Mara Jade was.Not that it mattered.He was filled with a sense of her importance.

“I can feel Solo and the Wookiee; they’re playing a game.I can feel the stars as they flicker past.I can feel you, and your...concern.”Mara opened her eyes, met his gaze.“You’re worried,” she said to him, “but not about me.You’re worried _for_ me.”

She wasn’t wrong, but Luke had hoped he wasn’t so transparent.

Before he could say anything, Mara was speaking again.“I’ll help you,” she said, gripping his real hand in both of hers.“After we find Karrde.We can drop him off somewhere, and then I’ll go with you.”

“So you can kill me?” asked Luke with a wry smile.

“No.”There was no laughter or malice in Mara’s countenance.“I’m going to kill him.”

“You don’t mean that.”

She looked straight at him, and said, “Yes, I do.Absolutely.I gave him everything— _everything_ —and he gave me _nothing_ in return.I don’t owe him anything.These words in my head, this command—”

Mara winced, releasing his hand.“I’m going to kill him.”

“I’ll be with you every step of the way,” Luke said, and his mind flitted back to his conversation with Leia.

_“Don’t go falling in love with her, brother.”_

That’s not what this was, Luke told himself.

Her Force sense brushed up against his, and Luke grasped hold of her in his mind, careful to shield what he had been thinking of.They were making progress as allies, if not friends, and he didn’t want to ruin that.

“Luke,” Mara murmured, her voice timid.“I’m sorry.”

His stomach did a funny flip.She sounded so young, and he wondered aloud, “How old are you?”

The way Mara looked at him made him regret his abrupt question.But she wasn’t angry—at least not in any way he could feel in the Force.“Twenty-six,” she replied.

“And how long did you work for the Emperor?”

Mara shrugged.“As long as I can remember.He took me from my home, from my parents.”

“Who were they?” he asked, his mouth running faster than he could control.

Again, Mara lifted her shoulders in a shrug.“I don’t remember.I don’t even know if Mara Jade is my real name.But it’s the only name I can remember that wasn’t specifically tied to a cover.”She paused for a long moment.“I don’t think they wanted him to take me, but I—”Embarrassment washed over him, rolling off of Mara.“I wanted to go.”

“You could go find them,” Luke suggested.

She shook her head.“I think he killed them.I don’t know.I wouldn’t know what to say to them, even if they were alive.”

Luke could sense her deep discomfort, and he wanted to distract her from these feelings.He did recognize that it was a good sign that she was even discussing this with him, her one-time sworn enemy.Something about her made him want to keep talking, for this moment to never end.Filled with a sudden bravery and certainty, Luke edged closer to her so that they were pressed together from shoulder to hip.

Something flittered past him that felt like pleasure, but it was brief and Luke wasn’t sure if the emotion was his or hers.

“What other names did you use?” he asked.

“Lianna,” she answered promptly.“Celina.Arica, when I was at Jabba’s to kill you.There were others, too, different roles I played.None felt as right as Mara.”

“It suits you,” Luke said honestly.And it did.

Half of her mouth rose in a smile.“Thanks.”After a long, quiet moment, she asked, “Did you ever change your name?In the Rebellion, I mean.Since you became the Empire’s most wanted.”

“No,” he said, thinking of the hot and sandy days of his childhood.“But growing up, the other kids called me Wormie because I was small and couldn’t stay still.I had a lot of energy and I just wanted to fit in.I never felt like I could belong, no matter how hard I tried, and now I know why.I had ambition, a drive to leave Tatooine that no one else had.The other kids made fun of me for my tall tales and wild imagination, and now I just feel pity for them.Only one other left, and he’s long dead now.Died at the first Death Star.

“But that’s okay,” Luke added quickly.“I have real friends now, and a family that truly understands me.”

Mara sighed.“Would you think less of me if I told you that I was jealous?”Luke turned his head to look at her, but she continued speaking before he could say anything.“I never had friends or family.We were all so competitive for the Emperor’s favor and attention—but you know that.Karrde is the closest thing I’ve ever had to family, I think.”She was silent for a moment longer, but Luke could tell that she was struggling to put words to something else.“And then seeing you with your family earlier... I just wonder what else I’ve missed out on.”

“Mara,” Luke began, but didn’t know what else to say that didn’t seem trite or insincere.

“I just feel alone,” she said, tucking her head down between her chest and knees.

“You’re not alone,” Luke said, putting his arm around her shoulders.

She shook her head, still curled in on herself.“I look back at my life now,” she said, and raised her head, “and I can see how screwed up I was.How screwed up he _made_ me.He was always with me, and when he died, I was truly alone for the first time.”

“You’re not alone,” Luke repeated. _I’m here,_ he told her, and she shivered, leaning into him.

“I know,” she whispered.

_“Don’t go falling in love with her, brother.”_

Like a punch to the gut, Luke realized it might be too late.

He wanted to kiss her.

Mara’s eyes flicked between his, and he wondered if she was thinking the same thing.Beneath the blanket, cold fingers slid between his so that their hands were interlaced, and Luke felt dizzy.

It had been a very long time since he’d kissed anybody.Did he even remember how to do it?

If he kissed her, what would she do?

Her grip tightened on his hand, and her green eyes bore into his.Her lips parted slightly as she looked up at him, her eyes flicking down to his mouth.A gentle tug on his arm, pulling him closer to her.

Luke stumbled a bit, mentally fumbling for what to do.

Her mind gently nudged his, and Luke was surprised by how close they were.Their noses just barely brushed, and then—

“Hey, Luke?” called Han, just as the door to the hold slid open.

Before Luke processed what was happening, Mara was a respectful distance away, and Han was walking in.Heart racing, Luke focused on making his voice calm and steady as he responded, “Yeah?”

“Chewie and I were gonna start a round of sabaac if either of you want in.”

His head was still fuzzy.“Uh, sure.Mara?”

But the woman in question was rising to her feet, folding the blanket into a neat square. “Thank you for the invitation, but I think I’ll just turn in.Good night,” she said quickly, pushing the blanket into Luke’s arms, never quite meeting his eyes.Mara stepped around Han, and was gone.

Both men stared after her for a minute, then Han turned to Luke and asked, “What did I miss?”

“Nothing,” Luke sighed.“Nothing at all.”

* * *

Mara completed her nightly routine in the ship’s small ‘fresher, and then climbed into one of the four bunks in the ship’s quarters that must have once been another cargo hold.Assuming both ship’s pilots had their own quarters, Mara figured she would be sharing with Skywalker, if he even came in.

Skywalker.

She wouldn’t blame him for steering clear of her for the next ten to fourteen days it would take to get to the Outer Rim.How could she have let her guard down?

They had been so close to—

Mara stopped that train of thought immediately.No use analyzing a situation that might have happened.

But what if he had kissed her?What would have happened if Solo hadn’t walked in?Would she have kissed him back?

It had been so long since Mara had ever had this feeling in her chest, if she’d ever even _had_ this feeling in her chest.She couldn’t name it, but it felt fluttery and tight and crushing all at once.There was no use in pretending that she wasn’t attracted to Skywalker.Even when they first met, she had recognized that he was not terrible to look at, even nice.And there had been so many moments that the thought of killing him made her feel ill.

What could he possibly see in her?

Mara knew she was objectively pretty.She had been told so on several occasions by various beings around the galaxy.She knew she was intelligent and quick and clever.

Maybe it was that she was Force-sensitive, as limited as her abilities might be.Maybe Skywalker was only drawn to her because he’d never met anyone like her before.It was the possibility that made the most sense.

Otherwise, Skywalker would have to actually _like_ her, which Mara knew was impossible.She was difficult and mean and had spent so much time antagonizing him in various ways.

Even if he _did_ like her, Mara had no clue what she would do about it.

Rolling onto her side, Mara stared at the bunk opposite, where Skywalker’s lightsaber rested atop the bedding.The silver glinted in the faint light.Closing her eyes, Mara stretched out to the Force, intent on shifting the hilt just a little bit—

And cut herself off abruptly, as Skywalker’s Force presence brightened at her awareness.

Again, Mara was reminded of the _rightness_ she felt when their minds mingled together in the Force.There was something between them that Mara was afraid to name, if she could name it at all. 

During their conversation in the cargo hold, Mara had noted a particular look on Skywalker’s face that wasn’t unfamiliar; she’d seen him wear it several times over the past few days.But now, thinking back at the interactions she’d had with his family today, Mara knew where she’d seen it before.

His expression was the same that Leia Organa Solo wore when she looked at her husband.An expression Mara had no experience with.An emotion she was terrified to identify.

Mara rolled over to face the wall and shut her eyes.It had been a long day, and she was exhausted, but too confused and anxious to fall asleep.Mara tried to control her breathing and keep her mind clear, but that only seemed to increase her restlessness.

What seemed like an eternity passed, then the silent monotony was broken up by the _swish_ of the cabin door opening and then closing a moment later.

“Mara?” came a whispered voice.Skywalker.

She didn’t want to talk to him.Mara kept her breathing controlled, so she would seem to be asleep (though she doubted she could fool him).

There was some rustling around, finally ended by the sound of Skywalker climbing into his bunk across from her.

It felt wrong to be sleeping in the same room as him, which was so _stupid_.How had things changed so much within one day that Mara felt that she couldn’t be around him anymore?Not because she hated him, but because she _didn’t_ hate him.

Barely any time passed before Mara heard Skywalker’s soft snoring, and rolled her eyes.She was never going to get any sleep.

* * *

_She is forced down to her knees, the threat of blue lightning crackling only feet away from her.Skywalker is there next to her, but it feels like he is parsecs away.Something is wrong with him.She chances a glance over, but his eyes are set straight ahead.Mara follows his gaze and shudders._

_What looks like a reanimated corpse of Palpatine is suspended before them._

_Mara looks around the chamber.Cloning cylinders fill the area, each containing a being in a different life stage.Something about them looks familiar..._

_It’s the eyes.It has to be.She would know those eyes anywhere._

_Again, Mara looks over to Skywalker.He is still as one of the statues they passed on their way down here.Wherever ‘here’ is._

_“Thank you, my Hand,” the Emperor says, this gravelly voice reverberating in Mara’s chest.“It has been so long.”His hood covers the top half of his face, but his grin makes up for the missing expression.“I knew that giving you the Wayfinder would bring you to me eventually.”_

_There is an object in his hand that Mara recognizes as the pyramid she was given years ago, back before she ever met Skywalker.Back when she still believed in the Empire and in the Emperor.Back when she believed in herself._

_Mara thinks back to just days ago, when she stood on sandy bluffs with Skywalker’s hand in hers._

_Things will never be the same._

_“Mara,” the Emperor says proudly.“My Mara.”_

_“Mara,” say the whispers surrounding them, the Emperor’s new followers.“Mara.Mara. Mara, Mara, Maramaramaramara—”_

* * *

“Mara!”

Mara’s eyes flicked open to see Skywalker’s face hovering inches from her own.Her heart was racing, sweat dampening the back of her neck.“He’s alive,” she gasped, mind full of grotesque visions of her old master.“The Emperor—he’s alive.I need—”She sat up and pushed Skywalker out of the way, reached down and grabbed her bag.Where was the pyramidal figure that had seemed like a knick knack for so long?Once it was resting in the palm of her hand, she exhaled.“This is important,” she muttered.

The cabin’s light turned on, and Mara looked around to see that Skywalker had used the Force.She folded her legs, and Skywalker sat down beside her.“What is that?” he asked, reaching for the object.

“I think it’s called a Wayfinder,” Mara said, the Emperor’s laugh reverberating through her head.“I don’t know what it is.I always thought it was some kind of holocron I wasn’t strong enough to open.”There was some kind of ancient writing on the sides of the figurine, a rune that Mara didn’t recognize.Skywalker turned it over and around, studying every facet.“I never paid much attention to that,” she explained.“I just assumed it was some sort of gift I wasn’t capable of understanding yet.”

Without looking at her, Skywalker said, “You don’t give yourself enough credit.You had the foresight to keep it with you.”

“I didn’t though,” she protested.“That’s what I went to grab from the Palace.I wanted to keep it with me as a reminder of my mission.” _To kill you_ , she wanted to add.It all seemed so stupid now.Her enemy was her ally, and her master was her enemy.

When she looked up, Skywalker’s blue eyes were watching her intently. 

Uncomfortable, Mara adjusted the collar of her shift.“I wouldn’t have even thought of it, except for...”

“Your dream,” Skywalker finished.

Mara flushed.“Did you see that one, too?”

“It didn’t seem like a dream to me.That couldn’t have been a memory.”

Shaking her head, Mara snatched the Wayfinder from his hands.“I’ve never had a dream—a _vision_ like that before.”

Skywalker’s lips twisted.“The only visions I’ve had were on Dagobah.Well,” he corrected himself, “and in the Temple.That’s what led me to Tatooine, and to you.”

Fear struck out at Mara’s chest.“I don’t want to face him,” she said, dropping her head to stare at her hands in her lap.“Not yet.I’m afraid of—of giving in to him.I’m not strong like you.I don’t think I can resist him.”

“Mara,” Skywalker said gently, reaching out to take hold of her hand.“I’ll be with you, every step of the way.Together, we can stop him, Vihaan, and the rest of the Imperial Remnant.”

His hand was warm.Longing stabbed at Mara’s heart like a knife. _No_ , she told herself.Determined to keep her face securely blank, Mara looked up at Skywalker, but he wasn’t watching her.His gaze was fixed on the Wayfinder.

“Do you still have that image of the dagger?” he asked.Mara hummed assent, then (regretfully) pulled her hand from his so she could dig through her bag and extract her datapad.Opening the file, Mara turned the screen to show him.Skywalker reached out and enlarged the image, focusing on the runes.

They matched.

“Of all the times to leave Threepio behind,” he muttered.Skywalker rose and crossed to his bunk.Datapad in hand, he returned to sit next to her.“Mind if I send this to my sister so she can ask Threepio?”

“No,” Mara said, gesturing for him to go ahead.She watched his hands move over the two screens, remembered the feeling of those hands on her back earlier.

She shook off the thought.

“There.”Skywalker looked at the chrono on the wall.“It’s the middle of the night on Coruscant,” he said.“Leia will see it in the morning.Hopefully Threepio has seen this language before.I don’t recognize it.”

“Neither do I,” Mara said, taking her datapad back from him.She set it and the Wayfinder back in the bag she had beside her bunk.

The silence was thick.

“Mara,” said Skywalker finally, “about earlier—”

“Don’t,” she interrupted, shaking her head and keeping her eyes averted.It was safer to stare at her hands in her lap or off to the side than to look at him.After earlier, Mara didn’t trust herself.These dreams, or something about Skywalker himself, put her on edge.“It’s my fault.I was upset and emotional, and I shouldn’t have projected those feelings to you.”

He sighed.“But Mara—”

“It won’t happen again,” she pressed, meeting his eyes.“And I’m sorry about waking you.But... Is this normal?Sharing dreams?”

Again, Skywalker’s mouth twisted.“As far as I can tell, no,” he answered.“Though I don’t have many resources regarding the Jedi Order.I know my father had vivid dreams, according to Ben’s journals.”

Mara closed her eyes and pressed her fingertips into her forehead.“I was afraid you would say that.Why is it just my dreams that bother you?”

Skywalker shrugged.“I would have thought it goes both ways, but I’ve never really had dreams that I can remember.Or maybe I just shield them from you.”

“Wish I could do that,” Mara mumbled to herself, leaning back against the bulkhead.

“The Force brought us together,” he asserted.“I can only assume it has to do with that.But I can put you into a Force trance so you can get some sleep, if you want.”

She cracked a smile, both for her own benefit and for his.“I can’t remember the last time I had a night’s sleep without nightmares.”

He smiled back at her.“That settles it.Lay down, and I’ll put you in a trance.”Skywalker rose from the bed and let her move to lay flat.It felt bizarre (and almost too intimate for comfort) for him to lean over her and place his hands on either side of her head.“Any particular phrase you want to bring you out of it?”Mara shook her head, his fingers brushing her hair as she did so, and tried to relax.“I’ll just do ‘good morning’ then,” he said.“I’ll see you in a few hours, Mara.”

His blue eyes held hers intently, as his Force sense pressed up against hers.

And then she slept without nightmares for the first time in years.


End file.
